Snow Skip
by FishyFloat
Summary: It's two days before Christmas and the Mighty Ducks have an away game in Pittsburgh that they will never forget. Rated T for alcohol and language- 02/06- Whatever did happen to the first aid supplies?
1. Arrival in Pittsburgh

**AN: **And I'm back from NaNoWriMo! I successfully completed and surpassed the 50,000 word goal by writing a total of 58,047 words in a mere 30 days. That story is nowhere near ready to be shared; I have to re-write the entire first half because I made the characters older halfway through the month and things no longer line up. I promise, when revisions are finished, I will share. In the meantime, please enjoy this little slice-of-life tale!

Merry Christmas everyone! I know it's a little early, but I am going to be super busy next week and unable to get anything written. TheMightyDuck requested a Christmas tale, so this is my contribution.

* * *

"Damn it, Nosedive!" Duke growled in frustration as he pulled open yet another empty drawer on the Aerowing. "Where'd you put the first aid kit?"

"Chill out, compadre." The blond teen unstrapped himself from his seat and went to the back of the plane to help search. "It should be right here." Confidently opening a cabinet door, he was stunned to find barren shelves. The first aid cabinet was normally very well stocked; it had to be with their rather dangerous lifestyle. All of the bandages, latex gloves, medicine, hot and cold packs, and blankets were gone.

Murder lurked behind the cold stare the former thief leveled at the youngest team member. Clearly, he thought this was another prank. Duke was not amused.

"Uh..." Thinking quickly, Nosedive backed up and gently shook Tanya awake. "Hey. Did you move the first aid stuff?"

Blinking sleepily at him, the technician rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Hm?" Tanya was always slow to get going after a nap.

"The first aid kit. Where'd you move it to?" Nosedive tried again, patiently waiting for the question to work its way into her brain.

"Um..." Tanya rubbed her eyes again and readjusted her glasses. "I moved it?"

"Someone did!" The gray drake was clearly irritated and didn't care who was on the receiving end of his wrath. He crossed his arms and glared at the two blonds.

"Oh, cut it out," Mallory broke in. "It's got to be around here somewhere." She got up to help look while Tanya sank back into the pillow she had propped up behind her and drifted off again.

Wildwing glanced over his shoulder at the commotion, but remained uninvolved. The Aerowing was currently under his control and he wasn't about to leave the pilot's seat unless it was an absolute emergency. Grin sat next to him, impassively watching the dark gray clouds outside the window.

Growling softly, Duke rubbed the chipped end of his beak.

"What did you need anyway?" Mallory asked. She too was coming up empty on the search. Where had all their medical supplies vanished to? Despite the troubling nature of the question, she chose not to stress about it. There was nothing they could do other than search while they were still in the air. If it came down to it, they could always restock after landing in Pittsburgh.

"A vodka's beginning to sound really nice," came the sarcastic response.

"Tough luck." Mallory put her hands on her hips and returned his glare, refusing to be bullied by the master swordsman. "You can either be nice and tell me what you were looking for or go back to your seat and shut up. I'm not going to listen to you complaining the rest of the way there."

"Nothing in the cargo hold," Nosedive announced as he returned from below. "I wonder what happened to all of it."

"As long as someone gets me an Advil, I don't care." Duke held his head in his hands, eye closed in pain.

"If that's all you need, I might have some in my bags," Mallory offered as she headed towards the cargo bay to find her gear.

Deciding to avoid the gray drake's ire, Nosedive walked to the front of the plane and stood behind his brother, hand resting on the back of the seat.

"What's his problem?" Wildwing asked, glancing at the instruments in front of him before half turning around to get a better look at his sibling.

"Dunno," Nosedive snorted. "Headache, I guess."

Wildwing nodded and flipped a series of switches above his head.

"Aerowing to Approach. Are we clear for landing?"

"This is PIT Control," a tired sounding male voice responded over the radio. "Please confirm aircraft type."

"Aerowing."

"Come again? We need your aircraft type, not your call."

"PIT, this aircraft is an Aerowing."

"Brainless apes," Duke growled as he paced.

"Here," Mallory finally reappeared, two brown pills in hand. "Take these and shut up."

"Aerowing, we don't have your specs."

"It's not like they're not expecting us!" Duke gestured wildly at the controls as if the people running the aircraft control tower could see him.

"Duke, go sit down," Wildwing calmly ordered. He'd seen Duke when he was irritated before, but this was unusual. Normally, the team's center would fall silent after delivering a threat and glare at whoever had annoyed him. This time, it was like he was mad at the world and was taking it out on them. Turning his attention back to the radio conversation, Wildwing tried his best to work with an uninformed control center on their landing.

"PIT, this is Aerowing from Anaheim. We don't need a runway, just somewhere to land."

"Give me a few 360's while we find your specs. Maintain level 1100."

"Wilco." Wildwing sighed and shook his head in exasperation. It seemed like they always ran into issues like this when taking the Aerowing to airports for away games. Usually, they tried to find smaller, local airports instead of the larger international ones; but, that hadn't worked this time due to some sort of Christmas air show.

"Uh, Aerowing, your specs aren't in the system." The traffic controller sounded extremely confused.

"They wouldn't be, PIT. We're an off world military fighter."

"Excuse me?" If the poor guy in the tower had been confused before he was stultified now. "Aerowing, we're busy here. Cut the joking and give me your specs."

"We're the white fighter jet with yellow and green striping. No runway needed, just landing coordinates."

"PIT, this is Eastern 327," a new, heavily accented voice broke in. "Aerowing isn't anything I've seen before. Confirming appearance as white with yellow and green."

"Stay out of this, Eastern 327," the control tower snapped. "Aerowing, maintain 360's until instructed."

Suddenly, Wildwing was beginning to understand Duke's bad mood. However, he knew these humans weren't used to dealing with a technologically advanced alien aircraft. Delays should be expected, even if they came at inconvenient times. They had already foiled yet another of Dragaunus' plans this morning before loading up for the away game. Christmas was in two days and Phil had been doing his best to run them ragged with public appearances. It was some small comfort that they had been able to leave their manager behind and force him to fly with the rest of the equipment staff. All the leader wanted to do was land, drive to the hotel, and get some sleep. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that everyone had reclaimed their seats and strapped in for landing.

Smiling to himself, Wildwing contemplated bringing the Aerowing in to hover right in front of the tower. The jet was more than capable of performing the maneuver and he could safely do it if he had Mallory turn on their radar so he could track where all the other planes were. Giving that irritable controller a direct view of their aircraft would be very satisfying, but most likely terrifying for everyone else in the tower. Yet again, he had to settle for the mental image instead of actually carrying out the plan.

"Aerowing, this is Eastern 327. Switch to 126.4?"

Confused, Wildwing did as asked and opened the private channel to the other plane.

"Eastern 327? This is Aerowing. State your intention."

"Just had a question for you." The French accent made his words difficult to discern over the radio, but it was clear the pilot was excited to actually receive a response.

"Go ahead and ask, Eastern." He had an idea he knew what the question was.

"Are you the Mighty Ducks?"

"Yes we are." Yup, exactly what he'd expected.

"I'm a huge fan. Good luck tomorrow!"

"Thanks, Eastern. Preciate it."

"Aerowing," the masculine voice finally returned to their radio after a long delay. "Cleared ILS runway 32L approach. Maintain speed 250 knots."

"Roger that. How long do you need me to maintain that speed?"

"All the way to the gate if you can."

Wildwing glanced at Grin, frowning. The placid giant simply shrugged in response. Clearly, they had both heard the same thing.

"Okay. You better warn ground control we'll be coming in fast." He didn't like to approach buildings at what amounted to nearly 290 mph, but knew the Aerowing could handle it. Apparently, whoever was in the tower hadn't checked the flight plan he'd filed with them; either that, or they simply didn't believe the Aerowing could perform a vertical landing and expected them to need a runway.

"Fucking idiots," Duke muttered.

"Sorry," a new voice came over the radio. "This is PIT. Aerowing, you're cleared for landing. Approach runway 32L, hanger C. We'll let you handle the specifics."

"Thank you, PIT." With that, the captain broke radio contact and brought the Puckworld aircraft in for a smooth landing. Slowing his speed to a much safer rate, he taxied to the specified hanger.

"Can it, Duke," Wildwing ordered as he stood. "I don't know what your problem is, but you don't need to take it out on us."

"My problem is the snow." The reply was delivered with the condescension of an adult to a child who should have known better.

"Wasn't snowing the last time I looked," Nosedive broke in, standing up for his brother.

"Not yet. But we're in for a hell of a storm."

"Come on, Tanya," Mallory prodded. "Time to get up. You can sleep at the hotel."

The sleepy blond tried to glare at her roommate, but only ended up looking confused. Yawning, she allowed Mallory to pull her to her feet and followed the smaller duck down to the cargo hold.

Mallory and Nosedive began unhooking the chains that held the Migrator in place while Grin moved the large, gray, wheeled bin containing their duffel bags of hockey gear from the cargo hold and up the ramp into the back of the Migrator. Normally, their gear would have traveled with Chuck and the rest of their equipment crew. However, the flight they were supposed to take to Pittsburgh had been canceled and there was a question of if they'd make it in time or not. Rather than risk arriving for a game with no gear, the ducks had opted to transport it themselves.

"Tanya, did you pack the chains?" Wildwing inquired as he lowered the ramp that would allow the Migrator to exit the plane.

"Chains?" Poor Tanya. She'd been up for the past two days trying to upgrade Drake One before their away game in addition to fixing the dishwasher yet again, re-stocking the infirmary, and working on some new invention. There were times when she became so focused on her many projects that she forgot to sleep or eat, even if someone else was there reminding her. They'd all learned to just let her work until she decided it was time to quit; some of her best work was done when she entered that insanely focused zone and neglected everything else. As long as they were there to make sure she took care of herself afterwords, they didn't see the harm in allowing her those creative binges. Besides, it only happened once every couple of months or so.

"Never mind." The goalie realized they weren't going to get much information out of her until tomorrow at the earliest. Rather than trusting in her currently faulty memory, he checked the floor storage compartment himself. The snow chains were exactly where they should be. Satisfied that they were prepared for the snow Duke predicted, he sat in the driver's seat.

"Nuh-uh." Nosedive waved Wildwing out of the seat. "I'll drive."

"I've got it, Dive." He may have just flown for four hours, but he wasn't willing to trust his younger brother's sense of direction in Pittsburgh. He'd been warned by the Puffin's goalie about all the one way streets and how confusing driving in the city could be when they'd hosted Pittsburgh yesterday.

"Bro." Gah, that look. Nosedive wasn't going to back down.

"Fine." Getting up, he moved to the passenger seat and strapped in.

They only got lost twice on the way to their hotel. Honestly, Wildwing had to admit that he would have taken the same turns Nosedive did and ended up just as lost. It was late by the time they finally made it to the Marriott. Fortunately, the hotel was practically across the street from the Civic Arena. If it came down to it, they could walk to the rink instead of driving there.

Duke's mood hadn't improved any with landing. If anything, it had gotten worse. Fortunately, he'd settled for scowling quietly and occasionally rubbing at the chipped part of his beak.

"They'd better have a sauna," Duke grumbled.

"I doubt it," Mallory smirked. She was having entirely too much fun poking at Duke and ordering him around. Why he hadn't snapped at her yet, nobody could figure out.

Finally finding a parking space, they gathered their overnight bags and made their way to the hotel. Grin took Tanya's bag for her when she dropped it for the second time as they crossed the street. Tanya wasn't always the most coordinated individual and exhaustion only added to her chaotic tendencies.

Three employees stood behind a tall, black, granite topped desk as the six ducks entered the richly appointed lobby. Clean, white tiles covered the floor while comfortable, beige chairs and couches crowded around a large coffee table and fireplace across from the check-in counter. A buffet style kitchen area was visible around the corner from the front desk.

"Welcome to the Marriott!" an overly cheerful brunette greeted them. "How can I help you today?"

"Just checking in," Wildwing tiredly answered as he rested his arms on the cool, stone counter and placed the team credit card on it.

"Name?"

Great. Phil had made the reservations and had neglected to tell him what they were under. Normally, Phil would have taken care of check in and everything, but they'd just had to leave him behind. No, it was worth it for the peace and quiet of not being badgered for last minute autograph signings.

"Try Palmfeather," he suggested.

"No, nothing under that..." She stared at the screen, looking for the correct name.

"Flashblade?"

"Um." Again, she paused and searched. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Mighty Ducks?" This was getting ridiculous. First Duke's attitude, then the confusion at the airport, and now this. Was a comfortable bed too much to ask for?

"Hey, we have a no pets policy," a bellhop with dark, spiky hair joked as he walked past.

"You did not just say that to me," Duke threatened. His hands clenched into fists and he angrily stepped towards the youth, only to be stopped by Mallory's firm grip on his upper arm.

She warningly shook her head no at him, silently promising to stop whatever he'd planned on doing.

"Sorry," the hotel employee flippantly brushed off the duck's attitude. "Geeze. I thought you guys could take a joke."

"Hey, I'm glad I'm not human. At least ducks got manners," the gray drake retorted, pulling free of Mallory's grip. Crossing his arms, he turned his back on the rude human and stood next to Wildwing. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm sorry," the young woman behind the counter apologized. "I can't find anything in the system that would be even close to any of your names. Are you sure you have reservations here?"

"Yes. Forget the reservation. Do you have any open rooms?"

"Not with the holiday, unfortunately. We're completely booked up."

"Crud." The leader rested his head on his forearms as he tried to think of what to do. If this hotel was booked, all the others likely were too. Phil had better not have screwed up the reservation.

"Oh, wait a minute!" Suddenly, the clerk's eyes lit up as she found something. "You needed three rooms, right?"

"Yes."

"Normally, I can't give out names, but this can't be a person. Does Baba Ganoush sound familiar?"

"Hah!" Nosedive started laughing. "Yeah, that's Phil alright."

"Leave it to him to reserve rooms under a food name," Mallory laughed.

"Yes," Wildwing couldn't help but roll his eyes at yet another of their manager's strange idiosyncrasies. Tapping the edge of the credit card on the counter, he patiently waited for the clerk to check them in. Finally, he was handed three packets of room keys and they were able to head to their rooms. Passing out the keys, he found himself infinitely grateful that he was rooming with Nosedive instead of Duke. He really didn't think he could take any more of his attitude tonight.

"Get some rest, everyone," the captain directed as he and Nosedive found their room. "We'll meet in the lobby at six for breakfast and head over to the arena for morning skate at seven thirty."

Tanya was following Mallory in a half daze and almost bumped into the redhead when she stopped to open their door. The girls were across the hallway from Nosedive and Wildwing while Duke and Grin had a room two doors down.

"Don't bother gettin' up that early," Duke muttered. "There won't be a game tomorrow."

"Duke, go to bed," Wildwing ordered. "If you're still like this in the morning, I suggest you have Grin help you take an oath of silence for the day."

"Bad storm's comin'," Duke warned, rubbing his beak once more. "There's gonna be so much ice, nobody here'll be able to go anywhere."

If Tanya had been more coherent, the goalie would have asked her for an update from Drake One about the weather. As it was, he didn't care. All he was interested in was sleep. Nosedive had already gone in their room and he was more than ready to follow when Duke threw another complication into the evening.

"Ya know what? Screw it." Duke dropped his duffel bag inside the door and took his key from Grin. "I'm gettin' that vodka."

"Mallory," Wildwing started his order, but was instantly interrupted as she inferred his intent.

"On it." Mallory accepted Tanya's bag from Grin and pushed the blond into their room. "Come on, Tanya. Let's get you into bed. I've got to go babysit."

Wildwing seriously hoped tomorrow would be better.

0000

It wasn't hard to find Duke in the hotel Bar and Lounge; aside from the fact that he was the only duck present, there were only five other patrons gathered at two tables. The gray drake sat at a glass topped bar, his profile sharply outlined by blue LED's under the counter and behind the bottles of liquor. He rested his head in one hand while slowly spinning a shot glass between his fingers. A second, taller glass filled with orange liquid sat at the empty space next to him.

"This seat taken?" Mallory joked as she stood behind him.

"Nah." He shook his head slightly and continued to stare at the clear liquid in front of him.

Stepping onto the crossbar of the stool, Mallory easily lifted herself into the tall seat. She studied the glass in front of her and pushed it away before turning her attention to one of the televisions above the bar. One showed highlights from a football game and another screen was filled with newscasters. The volume on both was muted, leaving the closed captioning to deliver the unheard verbiage. Soft jazz floated through the dimly lit room, granting the establishment an air of legitimacy.

"Don't want your screwdriver?" Smirking slightly, Duke switched his shot glass with the taller, orange one.

Shaking her head in the negative, she willingly accepted the shot glass and tossed back the fiery liquid in one gulp.

"Whoo," her eyes went wide at the strong flavor. "That's a good one." Flipping the glass upside down, she rested one elbow on the counter and turned towards her teammate. "What's the plan tonight? Get so drunk we can't skate or just a little tipsy?"

"Neither." He shrugged as he sipped the mixture of orange juice and vodka. No sense letting a good drink go to waste. He'd known she wouldn't want it; Mallory detested orange juice. Honestly, he'd have been just as happy drinking the vodka straight; but, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to try giving her the citrusy beverage. It had almost become something of an inside joke between them at this point. "Just trying to kill time and wait for this fucking storm front to pass."

"That bad, huh?"

"You've got no idea."

The bartender finally showed up to see if Mallory wanted anything. He was cute, for a human. The t-shirt he wore showed off his muscles nicely while the gelled, spiked hairstyle complimented his sharp features.

"Evening," he greeted. "Can I get you anything?"

Mallory glanced over the bottles of liquor behind him, trying to decide if she wanted anything. After a moment, she had made her decision.

"I guess we're going with vodka tonight. Give me a barracuda."

"Got ID?"

Rolling her eyes, Mallory produced her Puckworld Special Forces ID rather than the drivers license she'd had to get upon their arrival.

"Um." Biting his lips together and raising his eyebrows in incredulity, the bartender gave her a sideways look. "Nice, but I need something with your birthday on it."

"You carry that thing with you everywhere?" Duke asked.

"Bet you didn't get carded." She replaced the military ID with her drivers license. After a quick glance, it was handed back to her.

"Nope," the one eyed drake chuckled.

"Care for anything to eat?" the human asked as he turned around to select the appropriate alcohols and poured her drink.

"No, thanks." Accepting the glass, she threw back the shot and ignored the raised eyebrow of her bartender. "One more."

"Keep going like that and you'll have a hangover tomorrow," Duke warned.

"I don't get hangovers."

"Liar." Groaning, he rubbed the end of his beak again, clearly trying to get some relief.

"How bad's the storm going to be?" There really wasn't much to talk about, so she might as well see how accurate he was with the weather prediction.

"Bad. My beak ain't hurt like this since that ice storm that closed down Rooklyn."

"I remember that one," Mallory nodded. "I was in basic when it hit. The whole base was shut down, except for the new recruits. We had to go out and chip eight inches of ice off the walks."

Surprised, Duke frowned at her. Puckworlders were used to ice covered streets and sidewalks; that's why they wore skates to get around for half the year.

"I had a real asshole drill sergeant," she explained. "He wanted to work us every day. If the base was shut down, he was going to come up with something to do."

"That storm was the only time I ever spent the night in jail."

"What? I thought you never got caught!"

"Not without intendin' to, I wasn't. I knew the storm was gonna be bad, so I held up a convenience store and took my time getting away. Cops picked me up pretty easy. Jail's a whole lot better cover from storms like that than going to a homeless shelter. Food's not as good, but ya don't have to worry about the guy next ta ya stealing your blanket or slipping a blade between your ribs. Warmer, too." Shrugging, he took another drink. "Sides, I was outta there before they figured out who I was."

"They let you go?"

"Hah!" He scoffed at the idea. "Those fat fools couldn't keep me caged if they wanted to. I just up and left when I was ready." He finished off the screwdriver and leaned back. Thankfully, the alcohol seemed to have settled him a bit.

Mallory was just grateful that he had finally started acting like himself again. She'd seen better behaved two year olds compared to the way he was acting earlier today. She knew Tanya was out cold and wouldn't miss her. Grin probably went straight to bed too when they got there; he was never much of one for watching television or staying up late. Considering how deeply the giant drake slept, he'd have no idea of what time Duke returned.

"I think I left my book in the Migrator. Want to break in and get it for me?"

"Not tonight."

"Fine," she shrugged. "Suit yourself." His beak must really be bothering him. Catching the eye of the bartender once more, she waved him over. "What do you have on the dessert menu?"

"Well," he placed his hands palm down on the counter and leaned towards her. "The blood orange mousse is pretty good. We've got ice cream and chocolate tart. Don't know if you like coconut or not, but the lychee rice pudding is one of my favorites."

"Chocolate tart sounds good."

Duke tapped the counter next to his empty glass when the server looked at him.

"Hey! If it isn't my favorite birds!" The rude bellhop from earlier entered the bar and leaned on the counter a couple of chairs down from Mallory.

Duke purposely ignored him and focused on the television. Mallory narrowed her eyes, but held back the retort forming in her mind. Instead, she followed the thief's example and remained quiet.

"Look," he continued. "I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. I'd heard that you guys liked jokes and thought you'd understand."

"No harm done," Duke muttered, still refusing to look at him.

The bartender returned with Duke's second screwdriver and Mallory's chocolate tart and set them on the counter.

"Hey, Nick!" The ill-mannered bellhop greeted. "Can I get some chicken fingers?"

"Sure." With that, he vanished once more, taking the order to the kitchen.

"You know, I actually am surprised they're letting you stay here." That kid just didn't know when to stop. "I know we have at least two employees who are allergic to feathers. I'm sure some guests would be too."

"What?!" Alcohol had eliminated Mallory's already short fuse and she rocketed to her feet, ready to teach the impudent brat a lesson. This time, it was Duke's turn to stop her.

"Sit," he ordered, pulling her back to her chair. He tightened his grip on her arm when she pulled against him, initially resisting his restraint. Finally, she relented and sat on the stool once more.

"You're lucky I'm not going to pound you into a pulp," Mallory snarled.

"Here." Duke jabbed the fork into her tart and pushed it in front of her. "Eat."

Sensing that his survival might depend on a quick escape, the bellhop quickly moved to a table near the door to wait for his dinner.

Mallory glared at Duke and refused to touch her food.

"You were ready to punch him earlier. How come you're so calm now?" she demanded.

"Because, it's not worth it." He calmly nudged her food once more, drawing her attention to the chocolate. "If you're not going to eat that, I will."

"Mine." She protectively pushed his hand away from her plate and curled her arm around the precious dessert, smiling a little.

"Now, there are other things I could do that are far more entertaining," Duke continued.

"Oh?" Taking a bite, Mallory considered his proposition. With his history, he could certainly come up with some interesting payback.

"Well," he leaned forward and lowered his voice so only she could hear. "Our little friend over there seems to be pretty fixated on animals in this fine establishment. I think we need to find a pet for him."

"I don't follow." She slowly chewed a bite of the tart, savoring the delicate mixture of dark and white chocolate on cocoa nib streusel. Setting the fork down, she leaned a little closer to him, eager to hear his idea.

"I think a mouse would be just about right," he mused conspiratorially. "He might learn something from his fellow rodents. Besides, there's sure to be a mouse around here somewhere."

"You're going to catch a mouse?" How? That sounded ridiculous.

"Yup. There's a kitchen here. It don't matter how clean they are or how good they are at hiding it, but every restaurant has mice and roaches. You just gotta know where to look. I think he needs one in his pocket."

Suddenly, the chocolate tart didn't taste quite as good. Frowning, she pushed it away.

Duke calmly picked up her fork and took a bite, undeterred by the thought of the pests that could have inhabited the same room as the food.

"Not bad," he complimented. Setting the fork down, he gave his fellow duck one of his trademark grins. "Would you care to join me in a mouse hunt?"

"Ooh, yeah," she happily nodded. Snatching his glass, she contemplated taking a drink of his screwdriver in retaliation for the stolen dessert, but the thought of the orange juice was too disgusting. Changing her mind, she set it down again.

"Might even get that book for you, after," he offered.

"That," Mallory emphasized as she reclaimed her tart, "Sounds like a great plan."


	2. Games Ducks Play

So sorry it took nearly a month to get chapter two out! I was moving to a new state and things got pushed aside for a while. Now that I'm settled in to my new house and new job, I should be able to start writing and posting regularly again.

Chapter two was a lot of fun to write, even if the last scene drove me nuts for about a week. Ever know exactly what you wanted to write, but nothing would work out correctly? Yeah, that's what happened here. I think I finally hammered it into submission. One more chapter to this holiday tale. Enjoy!

* * *

Darkness and the soft sound of his brother's breathing greeted Nosedive as he slowly awoke. A quick glance at the clock told him it was almost five a.m. Their wake up call wasn't scheduled until five thirty. Waking up so early was uncharacteristic for him, except for holidays. Today was Matrem Yalda; or, it would be if he were still on Puckworld. It was the day they celebrated the Great Mother creating the avian race and the start of a new year. The past two Yaldans had been hell and he was better off forgetting them; but, he and Wildwing had planned something special to share with the team after tonight's game. It was important that they kept their home culture alive, even if they didn't really observe the religious parts of the holiday. Today was going to be awesome. Eager to get a start, he quietly slipped out of bed. Biting back the yelp of surprise as he tripped over his boots, he glanced towards Wildwing's sleeping form and was satisfied that he hadn't woken him.

A completely white, sparkling world greeted him as he pulled back a corner of the curtains. Their room overlooked a trapezoidal courtyard surrounded by their hotel, two other large office buildings, and the long parking garage. Snow glistened in the orange hued streetlights. It was difficult to tell what might be lurking under the icy blanket covering the world, but he instantly recognized what that wide, flat indentation was. No doubt about it, there was a pond in the middle of the courtyard. Considering how cold it had been yesterday and the storm overnight, there was a good chance it would be frozen.

The youth quietly went through his duffel bag and found the black body suit he wore under his hockey gear and some loose warm up pants. Pausing to admire his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he combed a few snarls out of his hair. Oh yeah, he looked pretty smoking in that tightly fitting Under Armor; the thick fabric conformed easily to his body, showing off his muscular physic. He'd initially chosen to wear a one piece suit like Wildwing when they first purchased equipment for the season, but had recently switched to a two piece in favor of being able to wear the top whenever he wanted. After striking a few poses in the mirror, he slipped the room key into his pocket, grabbed his boots, and put them on outside the room so he wouldn't wake his still slumbering sibling.

Nobody else was in the hallways or moving around this early in the morning. Even Mallory, who normally went for a morning run, wasn't up yet. Honestly, he loved all the different hotels they stayed in. Sure, they started to look like each other after the first dozen or so; but, it was nice to sleep somewhere above ground and to hear the rustling noises of other living beings walking down the hallways. Somehow, staying in hotels reminded him that the world was a much bigger place than he normally thought it was.

Two new clerks stood behind the front desk this morning. One was a young woman dressed festively in a ruffled, white shirt and red, sequined vest. If a spotlight had been directed at that vest, she'd light up like a disco ball. Her companion was a middle aged man who looked quite worn out by all the frenzy of the holiday season. His neatly combed, graying hair appeared far too sophisticated for the gaudy, reindeer covered, cable-knit sweater and green bow tie he was wearing in honor of Christmas Eve.

"Morning!" the woman greeted as he passed the front desk in search of a door that led to the courtyard.

"Hey," he responded and continued on his quest.

The lobby was just as quiet and empty as the hallways had been. The breakfast buffet wouldn't even be set up until six. A large television in the buffet style restaurant showed morning news anchors and footage of vehicles stuck in the snow and wrecked on road shoulders. Church and business closings scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

Finding the door he had been searching for, Nosedive stepped outside into the bitter cold. Snow had been shoveled away from the door, leaving a small clearing just outside the walkway. His body suit and warm up pants provided minimal protection from the elements, but he didn't care. This was _real_ snow and ice, something he hadn't seen in nearly a year. He'd had no idea just how much he missed it until nature had presented him with this spectacular gift.

Smiling broadly, he shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped up onto the nearly two inch thick layer of ice covering knee deep snow. Amazingly, the ice was thick enough to hold his weight. Wasting no time, he quickly headed to the man made pond he had spied from his window. The familiar depression in white didn't disappoint when he kicked through the crust obscuring what he had hoped was frozen water. Snow covered ice could be risky; usually, the white powder would provide enough insulation to keep water from freezing evenly if it hadn't solidified before the precipitation started. Brushing away crystallized flakes, he unveiled a small portion of the pond's surface. The hard, clear ice he discovered gave him hope that this pond just might be safe enough to skate on. Pushing away a little more snow, he uncovered more of the natural rink and was satisfied with the clarity of the ice underneath. Finally settling on a plan, he stood and jogged back inside.

"Hey," he greeted again as he walked up to the granite topped front desk once more. "I've got a weird question for you," he told the blond woman.

"Yes?" She broke off her conversation with her older, male counterpart and focused on the duck in front of her. Her long, blond hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. The duck couldn't help but grimace at their gaudy, Christmas themed attire.

"Well, two things, actually. Can you cancel the wake up call to room 357?"

"Okay," she smiled and typed something in on the computer in front of her. After a moment, she looked up again. "And the other thing?"

"Do you have a push broom I can borrow?"

"A push broom?" Perplexed, she glanced to her coworker. "Um, I don't know. Let me check with maintenance." Picking up a walkie talkie, she began searching for the requested equipment.

"How are you liking this snow?" the male clerk asked, clearly unsure of what to say to a giant duck who was also a famous athlete.

"It's cool," Nosedive shrugged. At least talking about the weather was better than being pestered for an autograph or asked if he really was a duck or just wearing some amazing costume. "Kind of like home, actually."

"Maintenance will have one for you in a minute," the blond broke in. "I'm just curious. What's it for?"

"I'm going to clean off that pond in the courtyard."

"That's probably not very safe," she worried. "We really don't want to see you drown."

"Yeah," the other clerk agreed. "Besides, aren't you guys playing over at the Civic Arena tonight? Can't you skate there?"

"Relax," Nosedive assured them. "If there's one thing ducks know, it's ice. If it's not safe, I'll scram muy prontiola."

"What if you don't notice in time?" She just wouldn't stop worrying.

"Then I climb out and come back inside to dry off," he shrugged. What else would he do? It's not like that pond had a current that would pull him under or make it difficult to find where he had fallen through. His feathers provided enough insulation that the risk of hypothermia was very low and he was an excellent swimmer. Really, there was no reason to worry.

Just then, an older man wearing bluejeans and a blue, collard shirt walked up with the push broom in hand. His black streaked, gray hair was slicked back in a mockery of a helmet. Dark patches on the bottoms of his pants told the observant that he had been the one to shovel the walkways clean and put down salt.

"Got the broom," he rasped as he reached the desk. "No idea why you need it."

"Thanks!" Nosedive happily took the broom. "I'll bring it back, promise!" He started walking back to the courtyard when the female clerk's voice stopped him.

"Don't you need a coat? It's only two degrees out there!"

"No way, chica!" He turned around and continued walking backwards, smiling broadly. "Ducks love the cold." Turning back around, he returned to the still dark outdoors and began cleaning off the pond.

Considering the pond was barely half the size of a hockey rink, it didn't take him very long to remove the snowy blanket. Using the end of the handle to break the crusty surface, he pushed the snow out to the bank, leaving a tidy barrier to mark the edges. Not forgetting safety, he constantly checked the stability of the frozen surface on which he stood. There wasn't a single place that felt or looked rotten or unsafe.

Quickly finishing his task, he grabbed a handful of snow and began compacting it into a very solid lump. He kept adding to it until he had a softball sized sphere. After returning the push broom, he went back to his room to give Wildwing that wake up call he'd canceled.

0000

Nosedive couldn't help but smile as he stood at the foot of his brother's bed.

Wildwing was sprawled face down across the queen sized bed, taking up the whole thing. One arm hung off the side and the sheets were haphazardly tangled across a leg and his bare back. One leg of his sleep pants had bunched up around his knee, leaving his limb exposed to the air. Two pillows covered his head, blocking out any potential noise from other patrons in the hallway.

"Hey, Wing," he quietly spoke. "Time to get up."

The young duck lightly tossed the snowball from one hand to the other as he contemplated his options. He could lay it on his brother's neck and wait for the cold to wake him or put it on the bottoms of his feet. Of course, he could shove the snowball in that pillow cave and crush it on his beak for a very rude awakening. Then again, Wildwing never slept with a shirt on and his back was the perfect target.

"Wakey, wakey!" Taking aim, he threw the snowball as hard as he could. It landed squarely between the white drake's shoulder blades and exploded in a frozen, icy mess.

"Nosedive!" Wildwing was instantly awake, rocketing upright. He tried to chase the laughing prankster, but ended up falling in the space between the beds as the sheets wrapped around his legs tripped him. "Get back here you little punk!" Quickly freeing himself, he attempted to catch the much faster youth.

Nosedive was prepared for the coming retaliation and had locked himself in the bathroom. Loud laughter could be heard through the thick door as he cheered his victory.

Brushing the snow off his back, Wildwing checked the time. He was surprised to see the clock read five thirty-five. What had happened to the wake up call from the front desk? On second thought, he knew exactly what had happened.

Sighing to himself, he ran a hand through his tousled hair, attempting to work it into some form of submission. A quick glance out the window told him where the snowball had come from. He was surprised to see a frozen pond in the middle of the courtyard; it didn't seem like someone would take the time to clean it off this early in the day.

"Come on, Dive." He knocked on the door. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Only if you promise not to do anything when I come out." His voice was muffled, but the laughter could still be heard behind his words.

"If you don't come out here, I'm going to make you run breaks all day."

"Aw, man." The door opened a crack so he could look out. "You're no fun."

Wildwing pushed it the rest of the way open and stepped aside so Nosedive could exit. Closing and locking the door behind himself, the goalie showered and got ready for the day.

0000

Wildwing was surprised to find that he was the last one to show up for breakfast. Nosedive was already sitting at a table with a plate of waffles, fruit salad, and glass of apple juice in front of him. Mallory and Grin were going through the buffet, filling their own plates. Duke and Tanya sat across from each other at the far end of a table grouping. Tanya read the newspaper while Duke watched the news as he ate.

The dining area had an open layout with food lined up on granite topped counters along the far wall. An impressive array of breakfast items overflowed the confinement of baskets, trays, and platters. Small tables arranged to seat groups of two or four stood in evenly spaced regiments throughout the room. Whoever had arrived first disrupted the neat arrangement by pushing three of the tables together so the team wouldn't be spread out.

Joining his teammates in line, Wildwing picked up a heavy, ceramic plate and added three biscuits, jelly, and butter to it, along with a generous helping of fruit salad and cottage cheese. An idea came to him as he removed the carafe of milk from its bed of chipped ice. Abandoning his plate of food, he filled a small, paper cup with the frozen substance.

Mallory had taken the seat across from Nosedive and saw her team captain stealthily approaching. Her gaze returned to her meal when Wildwing put one finger to the end of his beak, signaling silence. She tried to hide a smile and failed miserably.

"What?" Nosedive asked when he saw her smirk. He was too slow in turning to look behind him. A strong hand pulled at the neck of his shirt, leaving a clear opening for an icy delivery. Recoiling from the sudden cascade of cold sliding down his back, he jumped up and hopped around, hoping his movements would provide relief from the irritating cubes. Unfortunately, the tightly fitting top held the chilly substance firmly in place.

"Aah!" Nosedive grabbed at the back of his shirt, desperately trying to free himself of the frozen slivers. "That's cold!"

Laughter erupted from the rest of the ducks as Nosedive danced around, attempting to dislodge the icy pests. Tanya almost choked on her oatmeal she was laughing so hard. Gently slapping her on the back, Grin helped her breathe again. Other guests stared, astounded at the raucous aliens. The ducks generally behaved themselves in public, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves than their alien appearance already did. However, there were times when certain teammates deserved a little public embarrassment.

"Now we're even." Wildwing returned to the counter and retrieved his plate before taking the open seat next to his sibling.

"Yeah, yeah," Nosedive rolled his eyes as the rest of the team and a few other hotel patrons openly laughed at his misfortune. Shaking the back of his shirt allowed the last of the ice to fall to the floor. "Laugh it up."

"What'd you do?" Mallory asked after she caught her breath.

"Nothing!"

"He woke me up with a snowball," Wildwing clarified.

Mallory snorted with laughter. She tried suppressing it, but couldn't stop. Sometimes, the Flashblade's could be absolutely dogged in their attacks on each other.

"You do know this means war," Nosedive threatened.

"No it doesn't." Wildwing casually buttered one of the biscuits, completely unphased by the prospect of open battle.

"Why not?"

"Cause," he took a bite, slowly chewed and swallowed, and continued. "You'd loose."

"No way. I _never_ give up."

"Yeah, but I have allies."

"Mallory would back me up. Wouldn't you, Mal Mal?" Nosedive batted his eyes at her, pleading for help.

"Fat chance!" Moving her coffee so Nosedive wouldn't knock it over, she continued to smile. "I know better than to get mixed up in your fights."

"Yeah," Wildwing agreed. "And I'm team captain. You have to do what I say." The white drake playfully nudged his brother with his elbow.

"He's got ya there, kid." Duke couldn't help but be amused by their antics. Seeing the way they would constantly tease, prank, and annoy each other almost made him wish he'd had a sibling growing up. He'd never admit it, but he was slightly jealous of their close relationship.

"Stronger," Nosedive laughed, admitting defeat.

"Smarter." Wildwing smiled as he repeated the second half of the banter their parents would throw at each other after their mother had successfully completed a prank. "Nice to see you're in a better mood today, Duke."

"Yeah," the gray drake nodded. "Had a good book ta take my mind off things. Sides, it's kinda hard to be grumpy on Matrem Yalda."

"And a Happy Yalda to you too," Mallory teased as she raised her cup of coffee in a mock toast and took a drink.

Duke returned the gesture with a courteous nod and smile.

"I'm curious about what you two are planning for tonight after the game." Tanya didn't bother lifting her head from the newspaper as she spoke. At first, everyone had mistaken her ability to focus on reading and conversation at the same time as rudeness; now, they knew it was just Tanya relaxing enough to be herself around them.

"Yeah," Duke agreed. "What's in that second bag you had yesterday, Wing?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," the leader evaded as he continued to eat. "Grin, you still going to make those dumplings?"

"Yes." He had already arranged the use of a crockpot with the Puffins' staff to make _tangyuan_, special dumplings usually eaten by those who celebrated Nocte Dongzi. The spiritually inclined drake was the only Mighty Duck who celebrated the balanced and renewed energies of Nocte Dongzi rather than the more common Matrem Yalda. He had held a private celebration on the twenty-first when Earth's solstice occurred and planned to celebrate again with the rest of the team in honor of Puckworld's winter equinox.

"You know, I don't think there's going to be a game today," Nosedive broke in, sounding slightly worried. "There's a whole lotta ice covering everything out there."

"Yeah," Tanya agreed. "He may be right. There seem to be an awful lot of closings on the news." Her attention never wavered from the Local Events page of the newsprint in front of her. Two empty coffee cups sat in front of her as she sipped from a third. She progressed to more in depth sections of the paper with each cup as the caffeine helped wake her up.

"How can you possibly know that?" Duke asked, confused. "You're not even facing the TV!"

She shrugged in response, her gaze remaining on the paper as she half smiled.

"Aaah," Duke dismissed her ability to absorb any information around her without even really paying attention to what it was. "It can't be that bad out."

"Says the drake who was throwing a tantrum yesterday because of the storm," Mallory teased. "I recall you predicting it'd be as bad as that storm in '57."

"Aw, man," Nosedive grinned. "That was the rockinest snow in the history of Puckworld."

"You're only saying that because we got out of school for two days," Wildwing added.

Beeping from Wildwing's communicator interrupted their breakfast. Confused, the white drake opened it.

"Wildwing!" Phil's voice floated through the small device. "We're stranded in Houston. They said there's been a huge snowstorm and the Pittsburgh airport's closed. We can't get there."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Wildwing didn't seem too bothered by the delay. "Why don't you just go back to Anaheim?"

"It's Christmas Eve! We can't get a flight until Thursday."

Mallory pointedly stared at her team captain and mouthed 'no.' She knew exactly what he was thinking and there was no way they were going to pick up Phil and the equipment staff if she had anything to do with it. There weren't enough seats for everyone, creating a safety issue in addition to the annoyance.

"At least it's warm in Houston," Mallory added.

"We can't even get a hotel," Phil complained.

"We almost didn't get a hotel," the leader was not amused by last night's confusion. "Next time, try putting the reservations under an actual name."

"What? And let the media find where you guys are staying? They've got to pay me for interviews, not ambush you outside hotels."

"Ugh." Nosedive dramatically hit his forehead against the table in exasperation. Phil's love of money ruled all, even their hotel reservations.

"Oh, by the way," their manager continued. "You can't get into the arena this morning. It hasn't been decided yet, but tonight's game is going to either be delayed by two hours or canceled. We're still talking with the NHL about what to do. I'll let you guys know when I find out."

"You couldn't have told us that to begin with?" Wildwing sighed. "Okay. Keep us updated and good luck with finding a flight or hotel."

"Yeah, yeah," Phil complained. "Merry Christmas to you too." With that, he broke the connection.

"You know," Tanya spoke as she neatly folded the Local Events section and set it aside. "Maybe we should have gone to pick him up."

"How?" Nosedive asked. "If the airport's shut down, they won't let us near the Aerowing."

"We could always break in," Duke offered a little too enthusiastically.

"And here I would have thought the mouse and book would have been enough entertainment for you," Mallory teased.

"Mouse?" Wildwing looked between his weapons expert and master thief before deciding he was better off not knowing. "Never mind. I guess we have the morning off."

Mallory focused on her strawberry covered waffle in an attempt to avoid Duke's gaze. She knew the moment their eyes met, she wouldn't be able to hold back the laughter that threatened to erupt once more. Just thinking about how she had been the one to finally capture the rodent and show up Duke made her laugh quietly. And breaking in to the Migrator after? Well, that had been a lot of fun too, especially when a police officer had caught them and they'd had to pretend the keys were locked inside.

"It is never good to enter competition without fully preparing," Grin frowned. His normally unflappable nature could only be disturbed by a few things, one of which was being denied his morning skate. However, he knew not to become too focused on the problem and to instead allow the annoyance to wash over him and pass so a solution could be found. "Perhaps there are weights in the fitness center here."

"Not a bad idea," Wildwing agreed. "Maybe I'll go swimming." Despite the importance of working together at the morning skate and focusing on functioning as a team, he knew they would have to compromise and work out individually until the rink was made available to them.

"Actually," Nosedive smirked, "We can still skate. It'll be a little smaller than having the whole rink to ourselves, but there's a pretty nice pond outside."

"That's right!" Wildwing nodded. "I saw that from the window this morning. I wonder who cleaned it off..." He knew humans typically feared frozen artificial ponds and forbade anyone to step on them. All of those signs proclaiming 'No Fishing, No Swimming, No Skating' had been met with confusion when they'd first arrived. What was the purpose of creating a pond if none of those activities were allowed?

"Duh!" The blond youth smiled broadly. "Where do you think I got the snowball from?"

"Nosedive was the first one up and actually did something useful?" The tech's eyes finally left her paper as she stared at the youngest duck in amazement. "It's a Yaldan Miracle!"

"Hah!" Mallory laughed, thankful she wasn't the only one who had thought that.

"Let's keep our ice time," Wildwing suggested. "But I think we can skip the padding." He had an idea for a very unusual morning skate, one that he hoped everyone would appreciate.

"Sticks?" Duke asked, curious as to why they wouldn't bother with their practice gear. True, they didn't have their equipment crew to clean up their practice jerseys and padding, but he was used to taking care of that himself anyway.

"Sure," the white duck shrugged.

"Please tell me you're going to at least have a chest protector and goal pads, bro."

"Relax, baby brother," Wildwing assured. "There's no crease out there."

"Doesn't mean Mallory won't try to kill you with a puck."

"Hey!" The redhead glared at Nosedive's accusation. "You're just jealous because I have more goals than you."

"No pucks," Wildwing promised. "I've got a bouncer in my bag we can use instead." Sometimes, they would use brightly colored, rubber balls instead of pucks in practice. The balls moved faster than a puck and required deft stick handling to control. "Besides, it'll be easier to find in the snow if it goes wild."

"Hm." Duke carefully studied his team captain, unsure of what to think. Wildwing could be fairly unpredictable. That was a great asset on the ice and in battle, but it could certainly make life difficult at times. He didn't like not knowing what to expect.

"We'll meet on the ice at seven thirty," Wildwing directed as he finished his fruit salad and got up for seconds. "I suggest wearing something you don't mind getting soaked."

0000

"So, what do you think?" Nosedive gestured to the slowly brightening pond before them.

Wildwing was silent for a few moments as the mask on his face flashed from white to gold and the eyes glowed red. After a careful scan, he verified what Nosedive had already known.

"Looks good. Ice is nice and thick. It's a little thinner near the center, but it's still a good eight inches."

Smiling broadly, Nosedive knelt and began making a pile of snowballs. Catching on, Wildwing joined him as they waited for their teammates to show up. Once they felt the pile was large enough, they walked around the edge of the frozen water to begin another mound. They were working on the third heap when the other four ducks finally made their appearance.

"What are you two up to?" Mallory asked suspiciously, arms crossed. Taking Wildwing's advice to heart, she had donned her lavender body suit with her violet practice jersey over it. The top hung loosely on her slender frame without the padding underneath to fill it out. Her skates were slung over her shoulders, the laces tied together, and she carried her stick.

Nosedive threw a bright smile her way and left the now completed third tower of snowballs to get started on the fourth while Wildwing carefully walked across the ice to his team.

"Just getting set up," Wildwing explained as he neared the gathered ducks. "We'll do a light warm up, then work on passing and maybe a few games."

Duke, who had chosen to stay in his ever present maroon jumpsuit, nodded casually as he sat on the snowbank and began removing his boots. Everyone soon joined him and began switching over to footwear far more suited to the slippery surface. Hockey sticks lay scattered haphazardly across the white ground, abandoned for the time being.

"Sounds interesting," Tanya yawned.

"How many cups of coffee ya had so far, kid?" Duke asked her.

"Five."

"One more and I think she'll be about normal," Mallory joked. Slipping the blade protectors from her skates into her boots so they wouldn't get lost, she stretched and took to the ice.

"Plus a nap," the tech added as she tightened the laces on her skates.

"Normal for Tanya's still pretty far out there," Nosedive quipped as he slid across the pond on his knees and came to a perfectly timed stop in front of Grin. Shifting to his rear end, he carelessly tossed his boots away and grabbed his skates.

"I don't know how you can drink that much caffeine and still sleep," Duke muttered.

Tanya chuckled and stood, gliding out towards the edge and starting her warm up. Like Mallory, she had donned her practice jersey. Her hair had been tied up in a high ponytail, a desperate attempt at controlling the wild mass.

Grin looked to the sky, hoping to see the sunrise. Fortunately, the storm clouds had passed, leaving a blank canvas for the ascending orb to paint in hues of pink and orange. Closing his eyes, he grounded himself in the natural wonders around him, relishing the openness of the outdoors, the cold air as it flowed around the feathers of his bare arms, and the gradual brightening of the world. Feeling completely centered, he took to the ice, ready for whatever surprises Wildwing had in store.

As Wildwing stood, skates firmly tied in place, he removed the mask and set it by his goal stick. Today, he was just another duck skating on the ice. He had no intention of playing the leader role unless it was absolutely required. On a second thought, he removed his gold and white jacket and lay the mask on top of it; no point leaving something so important laying on the ground like just another piece of equipment. He kind of wished he'd have nabbed one of Nosedive's extra sticks, even if it was cut too short. Goal sticks worked fine for stopping pucks and for carrying them across the ice, but he preferred a standard stick for passing practice.

Once everyone was warmed up and had retrieved their sticks from the edge, Wildwing pulled a lime green ball from his jacket pocket. Enjoying the lighthearted day, he tossed it up in the air and bounced the plum sized orb off the back of his hand before flipping his hand over and bouncing it off his fingertips. He repeated the toss and hand flip a couple of times before allowing it to hit the ice.

"So, what's the plan, cap?" Duke queried as he tried to take control of the ball, only to have Wildwing easily maneuver it to his side and out of the darker drake's reach.

"Figured we'd play a little keep away." Pointedly looking at his brother, he tried to suppress a smile. "Don't let Nosedive get it!"

"Hey!" The youth protested as he tried to steal it away. "I thought you said we were even."

Wildwing launched the ball straight to Mallory and skated away from his sibling, laughing.

"Somebodies got to go first, baby brother!"

"Just wait," he promised as he bolted towards the redhead. "There's plenty of snow around."

Reaching his stick out, he tried to knock the ball away from Mallory.

"Mine!" She cheered as she twisted around him, taking the prized psudo-puck with her. Every time he made an attempt at stealing it, she practically danced around him, moving with far more grace and just as much agility as the youngest Mighty Duck. Hockey was approached with the same single minded discipline that she applied to martial arts and fashion; there was no way she was going to slip up and be the next keep away victim.

"Over here!" Duke encouraged, tapping the ice with his stick.

Taking advantage of the distraction, she backhand passed to Wildwing instead of Duke.

Nosedive quickly changed direction, charging straight towards his brother. He'd check the larger duck and bowl him over to get that ball if he had to! Unfortunately, Wildwing anticipated the move and stepped out of the way, one skate trailing behind slightly to trip up the overly eager youth. Instead of crashing beak first into the ice, Nosedive landed on his shoulder and turned the fall into a roll.

"Gotta pay more attention than that," Wildwing teased. He flipped the ball up onto the toe of his skate and balanced it there, carefully bending his knee and holding the ball several inches off the ice. Deciding he didn't want to bother using the goal stick after all, he dropped it and straightened his leg, practically offering the ball to Nosedive.

Wary of his older brother's skills, Nosedive took the bait and swung his stick at the black boot. All he had to do was hit Wildwing's foot and that ball would be his. Just before blade could touch boot, the ball was tossed up in the air with a calculated kick. The goalie twisted a little and reached out his bent arm, neatly catching the orb on his elbow.

"Come on, Dive," he taunted, playing with the practice equipment like it was a hacky sack. It was almost mesmerizing how easily the white drake could move the ball from shoulder to knee to elbow to foot to head, letting it come to rest for a moment at each spot before sending it on another unpredictable journey. "I know you can get it!"

"No hands!" Nosedive reminded as he focused on getting that annoying object away.

"Who said I'm using hands?" Shrugging the lime hued object from his left shoulder to his right, he kept skating. Shifting to one foot, he dropped the ball behind him and caught it on the horizontal blade of his skate. "All yours!" he let it fall right next to Duke's stick as he glided towards the middle of the pond, turning around to skate backwards and watch the game continue.

"Nuh-uh," Duke teased, easily maneuvering the ball out to his side and behind him while Nosedive tried to gain control. Showing off, he pretended a pass, only to stop it with his skate and return it to the end of his stick. He too put on a show, using his deft stickhandling to keep the ball moving in an unpredictable manner. No matter how hard the blond drake tried, he couldn't steal from the master thief. Deciding he'd had enough time with the green orb, Duke passed to Grin, Nosedive chasing just a moment too slow to get it.

"Grinster? Come on, be a pal," he pleaded.

"That is not how the game is played," Grin rumbled as he too maneuvered the ball at the end of his stick, far out of Nosedive's reach. Whenever the much smaller duck would make a lunge for the prized orb, the defensedrake would simply follow his direction, using his much longer arms to keep it beyond the youth's grasp. Wanting to give everyone a chance, he sent the ball flying over Nosedive's stick and straight towards Tanya.

"Hey, Tanya!" Nosedive finally tried distraction. "What's the square root of pi?"

"Oh, that's easy." Ignoring the object sailing straight for her, she began reciting the answer. "One point seven seven two four-"

"Thank you," Nosedive happily took the ball from her as she began rattling off numbers.

"Duh-hey!" Tanya sighed in frustration as Nosedive flipped the ball up in the air and bounced it on the end of his stick, skating backwards on one leg. "No fair!"

"Your turn," he smirked, not paying any attention to where he was going. Before he knew what had happened, he backed into Mallory and somehow ended up flat on his back with the right wing smirking at him.

"Might want to watch where you're going," she teased as she fished the ball out from under his shoulder and took off with it.

"Gimme that," Tanya demanded, chasing her friend.

"That's a negative," she lightheartedly laughed, side stepping the defenseduck's approach.

The two women skillfully skated around each other, each intent on controlling the green puck replacement. Each time Tanya would try to use her superior size and knock Mallory over, the lighter duck would bend out of the way and take the ball with her. Tanya had a longer reach than Mallory, which forced the redhead to stay in constant motion if she wanted to keep the game going.

"Now there's a pretty sight," Duke grinned, happily watching Mallory and Tanya's battle as he leaned forward, beak resting on stick knob. "I could watch this all day." His sharp, appreciative whistle pierced the air, causing both girls to stop and stare at him in shock.

Mallory passed the ball to Tanya without a second thought as she glared at the gray drake.

"Now Duke doesn't get it," she smirked.

"I already got it, sweetheart," he confidently threw back. "Sides, that's not the rules and you know it. You let Tanya get it, so now you're the chaser."

"You're going to give me back that book."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Hey!" Nosedive shouted, distracting them before they really got going. Well aware of how heated their arguments could get, he decided to cool things down and sent two of the ready-made snowballs their direction.

"What the?" Duke spluttered as the slushy, white mass hit the right side of his face. For the most part, he did a good job paying attention to what was going on to his bad side; but, he occasionally let his guard down, especially when he was with friends.

Mallory's laughter was cut short as her shoulder received the same treatment.

"That's it!" Mallory shouted. Suddenly, the two argumentative ducks were united in their mission.

"Come 'ere, kid," Duke demanded hotly.

"Skates, don't fail me now!" Wide-eyed, he hightailed it around the makeshift rink, doing his best to hide behind Grin or Wildwing while Tanya looked on, laughing.

Not one to let Duke and Mallory abuse his sibling without some help, Wildwing cheerfully picked up one of the snowballs and threw it at Nosedive. Unfortunately, he neglected to lead the shot enough and ended up blasting Duke instead.

"Sorry," the white drake apologized.

"Sorry yourself!" Mallory snagged a frozen projectile from the pile closest to her and threw it straight at Wildwing, anticipating his move to the left. She hit him squarely in the chest, leaving a dark spot on his green undershirt.

He really shouldn't have been astounded, but couldn't help it. He'd hit Duke, not Mallory. Why was she attacking him? Not that it really mattered. He'd planned on a game of snow skip anyway; that's why they had created the snowball stockpile.

"Snow skip!" Nosedive joyously declared as he sped past one of the prepared mounds and snagged one on the fly. Spinning around, he unleashed it upon Mallory once more.

Smirking quietly to herself, Tanya quietly moved to the stockpile on the other side of the ice and picked up three. People usually thought of Duke as the stealthy one; and, it was true. He could vanish whenever he wanted to. But, Tanya had a different type of stealth. She was the one people ignored, the one nobody ever took into account until it was too late. It didn't take a genius to figure out how to use that tendency to her advantage.

Picking out her targets, she allowed them to get fully involved in their own chase and battle before joining in. Nosedive was doing his best to escape his laughing brother and the other two offensive players. Grin occasionally stepped between Nosedive and the others, providing an avian roadblock and allowing the youth to gain more distance. When Wildwing sped past her, she took careful aim and hurled her first snowball at him. A dark spot blossomed on his back to match the one on his chest. Not wasting any time, she sent the second one after Duke and was very satisfied with his yelp of surprise as the frozen slush-ball hit his posterior. Chasing after Nosedive, she quickly calculated the trajectory of his speed and the curve of the pond's edge. Knowing the Flashblade's tendency to prefer the left, she maneuvered herself to be in front of him at his next turn.

"Gotcha!" Tanya laughed as Nosedive's turn brought them face to face. She soon covered his startled expression with the last snowball.

"Alright, Tanya!" Mallory exclaimed, sliding to a quick stop next to her roommate and giving her a high five.

"Hahaha!" Nosedive laughed as he wiped the snow from his eyes. "You got me. I surrender!" Dramatically raising his arms to the sky, he fell to his knees.

Wildwing teasingly shoved his brother from behind in an attempt to knock him over. Everyone knew the team captain enjoyed practices; but, it was a nice change to actually be able to see his broad smile and mirthful, blue eyes. Maybe it was the lack of padding or the missing mask, but Wildwing was acting a lot more carefree than normal. Or, maybe he was just enjoying the holiday season.

"Did someone say snow skip?" Grin asked, hoping to join in on one of his favorite games. He was usually one of the first ones out, but he always enjoyed the fast paced game of dodging and catching snowballs.

"I thought I heard that too," Mallory added.

"You did," Wildwing confirmed. "How about every duck for themselves? Last one standing gets dinner first after the game tonight."

"You're on," Nosedive accepted.

"Oh, no," Tanya groaned. "If he goes first, there won't be anything for the rest of us!"

"I accept your challenge," Grin said as he bowed.

"No way," Mallory broke in. "You two are going down! I'm not about to let either of you get dinner before me."

"Sounds like a plan ta me," Duke agreed.

They quickly broke apart, each duck stopping by the slowly diminishing pile of snowballs to load up on ammo. Sticks were abandoned at random points around the pond. They could be gathered up later. Right now, war was about to ensue!

"You guys do realize that Wing is an expert at this, right?" Nosedive asked no one in particular as he warily eyed the rest of the team. Three snowballs were cradled in his right arm while he held a fourth in his left hand, ready to attack anyone who dared get too close. He knew his brother was nearly unbeatable at this game; the only way they even had a chance of taking him out was to get everyone to gang up on him. Even then, it would be difficult.

"So?" Mallory eagerly eyed the prankster, relishing the opportunity to hurl things at him with no chance of repercussion. She could see Duke slowly approaching from the side, trying to stay out of sight. Target acquired.

Dodging the snowball Duke threw at her, Mallory smoothly dropped, spun, and launched her own snowball at the one eyed drake. He wasn't expecting her to know of his approach and hadn't moved out of the way. Her shot hit home, knocking him out of the game.

Unfortunately for Mallory, she had turned her back on Nosedive in order to take out Duke. She should have known better than to ignore the younger Flashblade.

"Careful," Duke warned as Nosedive drew his arm back, ready to throw the snow like a baseball.

The redhead turned around, raising her arm as she did so to block the flying snow bullet. The icy ball exploded on her wrist.

"Hah!" Nosedive crowed. "You're out!"

"No, I'm not!" Mallory denied. "I caught that one!"

"Sorry, sweetheart," Duke agreed. "You're out."

"Fat chance," Mallory teased, emerald eyes flashing. Crossing her arms, she stared down the one-eyed drake. "You need to get your eyes checked if you think I'm out."

Grin took a knee at the edge of the pond as Wildwing's snowball hit his stomach. He'd seen Mallory block the snowball and agreed, she was out. It had hit her wrist, not her hand. However, he chose to remain silent and instead observe how they would work out the technicality. If those swirling, scarlet tendrils streaking through Duke's normally turquoise and gray aura were any indication, things were about to get interesting.

"Ooh boy," Nosedive quickly got out of the way and joined Tanya in her attempts to get a shot past Wildwing's defenses. Still, he kept an eye on Duke and Mallory, enjoying the show.

"Like it or not, you're out!"

"No way, L'Orange!"

Duke unexpectedly lunged forward, plowing his shoulder into her waist and wrapping his arms around her legs before straightening with a now struggling Mallory over his shoulder. Laughing, he powered forward, ignoring her fists pounding on his backside and headed for the nearest snowbank. Unceremoniously relieving himself of his burden, he half dropped, half threw her into the waist high pile of snow Nosedive had cleared off the pond.

"Aah!" Mallory's shriek rang with shock, anger, and amusement all at the same time.

"You're out," Duke proudly declared from his upright position as the right wing struggled to free herself from the frozen barrier that had collapsed around her.

"Buwahahahaha!" Nosedive started laughing so hard he could hardly stand up straight when he saw Mallory go flying into the snow. A cold wetness seeping through the fabric of his bodysuit told him that Tanya had landed a blow. He didn't care; it was worth it to see Mallory literally thrown out of the game.

"You are so dead, Duke," Mallory threatened as she managed to get her legs under her and crawl out from the snow.

"Um, hello?" A new voice startled the playful avians. What must be a human stood before them, although it was difficult tell because he was so bundled up. His face was obscured by a yellow and white scarf; the black, knit ski cap pulled low to protect his forehead and ears. A heavy, black coat with the puffins gold and white logo shielded his body from the cold. Sturdy, black snow boots swallowed his pants at mid-calf.

Distraction yet again cost Tanya the game. Wildwing's carefully aimed snowball hit her squarely in the stomach, sealing his role as victor.

"Hah!" Wildwing cheered. Satisfied that the game was over, he glided over to the human, perplexed that someone would actually venture out into this cold. Everyone else inside the hotel had been complaining about the extreme cold, horrible ice, and mountains of snow. "Can we help you?"

"Actually," the muffled voice became clearer as a mittened hand pulled down the scarf, "I came to help you." Now that they could see his face, some of the ducks recognized Tom Barrasso, the Puffin's goalie.

"Tom!" Wildwing smiled and extended a hand. "I thought the Civic Arena was closed today."

"Sort of," he replied, shaking his fellow goaltender's hand. "The roads are still a mess and most of the crew can't get here. Luckily, me and a couple other guys share an apartment a couple blocks away from here. I figured I'd go for a walk and see if you wanted your morning skate."

"That's real kind of ya," Duke smiled. He really didn't expect any human to think of someone other than themselves with all this foul weather. Shockingly, this player from their opposing team had actually left the warmth of his home, journeyed across extremely slippery roads and sidewalks, and searched them out for no other reason than to let them in the arena.

"It kind of looks like you birds figured out a solution, though." He frowned a little as he observed the alien avians. Nobody was wearing a coat and Grin was actually wearing little more than sweat pants and wife beater. He'd almost decided to stay home when he'd first set foot outside, but these six were out in the cold like it was a spring day!

"It's been a while since we've had the chance to skate on real ice," Wildwing agreed. "Care to join us?" If they could convince him to participate, they could do a few other games that required two goalies. Besides, Matrem Yalda was all about honoring life in all its forms. It would be a great way to celebrate by sharing a little of their home culture with a fellow hockey player.

"Thanks, but I'm going to pass." He smiled, "No skates."

"Actually," Mallory rubbed her arms for warmth as she approached the group, "I think I'm going to head in and take a warm shower." The already dark violet practice jersey sported even darker patches from where the snow had soaked through.

"You can borrow my jacket if you want," Wildwing offered. "Just leave the mask on my boots."

"Thanks," she readily accepted the offer and retrieved his gold and white jacket from the snowy ground. Carefully balancing the mask on top of his boots, she rejoined the group, curious about what was going on. She might as well have put on a tent. The sleeves had to be rolled up to keep them from covering her hands and the bottom of the jacket reached down to mid thigh. At least it kept the wind from cooling her already soaked jersey any further.

"Think there'll be a game tonight?" Nosedive asked. He really hoped there would be. Ducks always celebrated Matrem Yalda with a rousing game of hockey! Besides that, they needed the arena for the surprise he and Wildwing had planned.

"Oh yeah," Tom assured with a hearty nod. "Give the city a few hours to get the roads clear and everything will be fine. There might be a delay, but I'm pretty sure we'll still play tonight. How long have you guys been out here anyway?"

"Duno," Duke shrugged.

"Fourty two minutes." Tanya didn't even need to check; she just knew and everyone accepted her answer.

"You sure you don't want to join us?" Wildwing tried again. "If you and I played goalie, we could get a pretty good game of skate ball in."

"Skate ball?" Confused, Tom wasn't sure if he wanted to participate or not.

"Yeah!" Nosedive eagerly agreed. "It's like soccer, but on ice."

Actually, the idea of joining in one of their games was quite intriguing. His team would regularly kick a soccer ball around the hallways before games to warm up their legs. Playing an actual soccer game on the ice would be quite challenging. But, he didn't have any skates and he knew he'd instinctively perform ice hockey saves if he played goalie.

"What size do you wear?" the white drake asked. They were the same height and almost the same weight. There was a good chance they wore the same size shoe.

"Uh, twelve."

"You can borrow mine if you want," Wildwing offered. All hockey players could be very picky about customizing their gear and skates were no exception.

"Actually," Tom had an idea. "If you guys don't mind waiting, I'll just run over to the arena and grab mine." He really didn't like the idea of borrowing anyone else's skates, alien or not. His skates had been molded to his feet and there was no way he'd wear anything else before a game.

"Sounds like a plan," Mallory agreed. She really wanted to play some skate ball. It was one of the games she excelled at and a certain thief needed to be put in his place. If she couldn't do that out on the ice, she'd be sure to do it during their pregame sparring match.

"Should I grab any goal pads?"

"Nah," Wildwing assured. "The bouncer's not going to hurt you and it's pretty hard to get any speed going without a stick. You could get your mask if you wanted, but I'm not going to wear mine." No point in mentioning the other reason for not wearing his; he didn't need it and that was enough.

"Well, okay then," Tom grinned. "I'll be right back!"

The ducks enjoyed another game of snow skip while they waited for their second goalie. Today was shaping up to be an amazing Matrem Yalda, even if they couldn't celebrate on Puckworld.


	3. Coffee, Pranks, and Gifts

Thanks for your patience while I got this next chapter up! I really wanted this to be three chapters and done but... These three scenes are already almost 5,000 words and I have another four scenes planned. I figured it'd be a good idea to split it here and give you guys some more story while I write the final piece.

I've really got to get this story finished. Pittsburgh has had enough sub-zero windchills and snow! These ducks gotta get back to California so I can enjoy some temperatures above 10 degrees.

* * *

Spending the morning playing some inventive games with the Mighty Ducks was not how Puffins goalie Tom Barrasso had planned on celebrating Christmas Eve but he had thoroughly enjoyed himself. Many other hockey players thought the ducks were standoffish, maybe even a little snobby with their high standards for the game and refusal to brawl; now, he knew they were just like any other professional athletes. Sure, they were highly focused during competitions, but they had their fun side too. Nobody who could juggle a stickhandling ball with their feet could be a complete jerk. Heck, he even liked that the ducks called it a bouncer; it was a much more concise name and still got the idea across.

The human took a seat on the snow and began unlacing his skates along with the ducks. He could easily see one of his snow boots, but the other seemed to have gone for a walk on its own. He could have sworn he'd left his boots together...

"Hey!" Duke's accented voice broke through his reverie. "Who's boot is this and who the hell's got my other one?"

"Probably mine," Tom called out, raising his hand. "But I don't know where your other one is."

Nosedive chuckled quietly as he jerked a thumb a bit of gray poking out of from a fluffy pile of snow.

"That it?" the youth questioned.

"Nosedive," the gray drake growled. "If you buried it, you can kiss those comics goodbye."

"Who, moi?" Feigning innocence, he pointed to himself. "Sorry, dude, but that wasn't me."

Tom's boot was dropped at his side as Duke stalked over to the pile, completely ignoring the fact that he only wore one shoe. After uncovering it, he discovered the inside was completely packed with snow.

"Which do you like better," the one-eyed duck casually asked as he began shaking the boot upside down in an attempt to empty the makeshift stuffing, "Captain X or Slug Men from Neptune?" Clearly, something terrible was going to happen to one of the comics.

"I didn't do it!"

"I'd say take both," Tom interjected. He was very curious to see where this was going to go. Pranks happened on occasion in the Puffin's locker room and rink and he was used to the war of retribution that could get started. It was always amusing, if somewhat embarrassing for his teammates.

Mallory quietly slipped the plastic blade guards on her ice skates, completely ignoring the ranting drake. Casually going about her business, she stayed out of the way.

"And you," Duke wheeled around to face the redhead, clearly expecting some sort mockery. His angry expression turned to one of confusion and then curiosity at her complete lack of reaction to his snow-filled boot.

"What about me?" Her tone was one of complete innocence. Standing, she brushed the snow off her bottom.

The only human present couldn't help but snort with laughter. Mallory clearly knew exactly how to work the team around her little finger; all it took was a little sway of her hips and a smile that was perhaps a tad too genuine.

"Don't do it again," Duke sighed.

"Don't throw me in snowbanks anymore and you won't have to worry about it." Smirking, she removed the oversized jacket and handed it to Wildwing. "Thanks for the loan. Sorry if it's a little worse for the wear."

"Don't sweat it," Wildwing shrugged as he folded the damp jacket over his arm. "There's nothing you could do to it that Nosedive hasn't already."

"What is this, pick on Nosedive day?" Chuckling to himself, Nosedive tossed the green ball they'd been playing with from one hand to another. "And here I thought it was Matrem Yalda."

"Well," Mallory shivered and rubbed her arms. "I'm going back inside. It's too cold to stay out here much longer! You coming, Tanya?"

"Hm?" Tanya had been staring at the laces of her skates for several minutes, not really doing anything.

"Come on, Tanya," the white drake encouraged as he helped her stand. "Let's get you that last cup of coffee."

"Nah," Tanya shrugged and took the stick her captain handed her. "Nap first. I should be good to go in a few hours."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nosedive started acting like a circus ringmaster, "I present to you, Tanya Vanderflock! The only duck capable of going three straight days without sleep and can still kick some serious tail on the ice!"

"I'm going to stop by the hotel restaurant for a snack," Wildwing said as he finished gathering up Tanya's things and handing them to her. "Anyone care to join me?"

"Nah," Duke refused. "I'll just eat whatever Grin's got laying around."

One of the benefits of rooming with Grin was access to his ready supply of snacks. He always had some sort of fruit, nori, squid jerky, or some other strange, yet amazingly delicious, treats that he willingly shared.

Tanya's huge yawn was enough answer for her. She very badly needed that last, long nap to fully recover from her self inflicted, creatively induced, sleep deprivation. Maybe she'd finally remember what had happened to the first aid supplies when she woke up.

"You know," Mallory yawned as well. "I think that sounds like a great idea. I didn't get that much sleep last night either." Between drinking, hunting down a mouse, and dealing with an extremely confused police officer, her escapades with Duke had kept her from actually getting to sleep before three a.m. She liked a solid eight hours on game nights if at all possible, and that certainly hadn't happened.

"You're still on for our sparring match, right?"

"Always." The smile she gave Duke was both inviting and threatening. Tom wasn't exactly sure that he'd go anywhere near a woman who smiled at him like that, but Duke seemed plenty eager to spend more time with her. Maybe they were more than just teammates? Then again, it'd probably be all over the gossip magazines and news if they were.

"Come on," Mallory placed a hand on Tanya's back and guided her towards the hotel door. "We'll deal with these immature drakes later."

"Dive?" Wildwing looked to his brother. He was running out of options for company.

"Nuh-uh, bro," the blond shook his head. "You've got important leader things to do and I've got a Bernie the Bear marathon calling my name."

"I'll join you," Tom offered. "Our morning skate was canceled too. Thanks to you guys, I've had enough exercise for the morning; but, now I'm pretty hungry."

"Sounds good," Wildwing smiled. He didn't often have the chance to hang out with fellow goalies and it was nice to be able to talk to someone else who understood the partial separation from the team that goaltenders experienced.

"Want me to bring you your books?" Nosedive offered, a mischievous smile on his face.

The only human present couldn't help but wonder how these ducks smiled. They had beaks, for crying out loud! And yet, there stood Nosedive, with one of the most charismatic smiles he'd ever seen. Without a doubt, that kid could get himself out of any situation with words and a cheerful expression alone.

"Stay out of that bag," Wildwing warned, his voice taking on a serious tone.

"Hey, just trying to help."

"I mean it." Leveling a serious gaze at the youngster, Wildwing stared him down until he relented.

"Fine!" Nosedive sighed exaggeratedly, shoulders sagging. "My own brother doesn't trust me. Looks like Grin's the only friend I have left in this cruel world." His melodramatic overacting was interrupted by a well-aimed snowball hitting him in the back of the head. "Hey!" Whipping around, he tried to figure out who had thrown it.

"Don't touch my stuff, kid," Duke laughed as he walked back towards the hotel.

"That was Mallory!" He'd own up to his pranks, but heaven forbid he be blamed for something he didn't do. Kneeling, he began making a snowball of his own.

Duke's back became the perfect target as he walked away. Grin threw a massive snowball at the maroon shoulders.

"What the?" Duke sputtered in indignation as he staggered from the force behind the blow.

"We are all instruments of karma," Grin calmly intoned as he formed another snowy projectile.

"All right, Grinster!" Nosedive cheered.

"That's it." Duke's eye lit up as he began compacting more snow in his hands.

Before long, the three drakes were involved in yet another snowball fight. Wildwing couldn't help but laugh at them. It had been way too long since his team had the opportunity to really let loose and play. Whatever deity had decided to cover Pittsburgh in snow and freezing rain had known exactly what they were doing.

"We'd better get inside before we're hit by friendly fire," Wildwing joked.

"Good idea," the other goalie agreed.

"Hang on a sec!" If Nosedive's smile had been expressive, Wildwing's was even more so. He eagerly grabbed Duke's and Nosedive's skates from where they had been abandoned. "Here." He handed both left skates to Tom. "Knot these up."

"What?" Tom stared at the proffered skates before taking them, slightly confused.

Wildwing was studiously tying all four laces of the right skates into the biggest mess of knots and braids that Tom had ever seen.

"Duke's gotten pretty good at undoing my knots," Wildwing explained, "But Nosedive's hopeless. Maybe you can confuse him with something I don't normally do."

"Okay..." He really wasn't comfortable messing with their skates, especially with the way Duke had been so protective of his boots. The gray drake's refusal to allow his own equipment team to handle his gear was legendary amongst the league. However, the Mighty Duck's team captain was the one telling him to do it and was obviously involved as well. If he was going down, at least there'd be company. He began tying the most complicated knots he could think of, pushing the long laces through the interwoven parts on the boots to make it even harder. By the time he was done, he wasn't sure it would be possible to get the skates apart without cutting the laces. "What about Grin's?" Surely, he should be included!

"He's got immunity," Wildwing joked.

"Yeah," Tom nodded as he glanced at the snow-hurling giant. "I don't think I'd mess with him either."

Wildwing nodded approvingly as he took the tightly intertwined pair from his human companion and worked his two into the mix.

"It's not that," the white drake shrugged. "He never deserves it." There were just some people who couldn't be pranked without making the prankster feel terrible about it.

They left the skates in a hopeless pile next to the discarded hockey sticks and returned to the warmth of the hotel.

0000

"Weirdest thing ever used as a hockey puck?" Tom asked, lightly blowing on his coffee to cool it off before taking a sip.

"Hmmm... That's a tough one." Wildwing took a moment to think. They had found a table at the hotel Starbucks and taken a seat while they enjoyed their post-workout snack. Conversation had quickly turned to similarities and differences of goaltending between universes. "Probably spaghetti. Either that or the frozen jello. You?"

"Spaghetti?"

"It's always food with Nosedive. Don't ask me where he got the idea, but he froze a bunch of spaghetti and sauce in a muffin tin and made pucks out of it."

"Bet that made a mess." Raising an eyebrow, the human couldn't help but shake his head. That was certainly one of the strangest things he'd ever heard of as a substitute hockey puck.

"Yeah... Ruined one of my favorite jerseys. What's the weirdest thing thrown at you?"

"Stuffed penguins." He didn't need to think twice about that humiliation. "Our manager worked out a deal with the Boston Bears and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The rink was covered in penguins and teddy bears and we had to keep them out of the nets while the other team tried to score. Each player donated a thousand dollars to the hospital for every one of their stuffed animals that made it past their goalie."

"Doesn't sound too hard." After catching pucks flying at around ninety miles per hour, a stuffed toy had to be pretty easy.

"That's what you'd think. Our hands were tied behind our backs to up the scores."

"Ouch. And I thought Phil was bad!"

"Could have been worse; at least we won. And the kids who were watching had a blast. I kind of felt bad giving them the beat up toys after the game was over, but they seemed to really like them. How'd the frozen jello work?"

"About as good as the spaghetti. Those Hostess cupcakes fly pretty good, though."

"Never would have expected that. Hey," Tom motioned behind Wildwing, "I think your team found us."

Wildwing glanced over his shoulder to find Nosedive heading towards him while Duke stood at the doorway. Grin kept walking past them towards the elevators, carrying all three hockey sticks and his skates.

"Yo," Nosedive cheerfully waved. "Want me to take your stuff up for you, bro?"

The goalies had tried their best not to take up too much space in the small cafe area by shoving their skates under their seats and leaning the sticks against their table. Tom had hung his goal mask on the back of his chair while Wildwing had to leave his on the already crowded table.

"Sure," he accepted as he leaned over and retrieved his skates from the floor. Handing off the goalstick, he returned to his coffee and danish. "Thanks."

"What about the mask?" the youth inquired, pointing at it.

"Nuh-uh. You know the rule." Wildwing had never let anyone touch his mask on game days, even before he wore the legendary Mask of Drake DuCaine. He swore it was bad luck. Even if the superstition was only in his head, it worked; he already had eight shut out games this season.

"You let Mallory touch it!"

"She doesn't count," he smiled.

"Dude, not cool."

"Ah-hem," Duke cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. Staring warningly at Wildwing, he held up the tightly knotted skates and drew a finger across his throat before turning his back and following Grin to the elevators.

"Uh-oh..." Tom visibly paled.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Nosedive soothed. "He won't do anything to you."

"Not here, anyway," Wildwing added. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten Tom involved.

"What about your jacket?" Nosedive motioned to the still damp, white and gold jacket Mallory had borrowed earlier.

"Oh, yeah." Leaning forward, Wildwing pulled it from the back of his chair and handed it off to his sibling. "I should be up soon."

"Cool. Later, Tom!" Waving to the goalies, he too left.

"Are you sure that was smart?" Tom asked when they were alone once more.

"Was what smart?" the white duck tried to ask around a beakful of danish.

"Giving him your stuff after tying their skates together."

"Oh." Yeah, probably not the best idea he'd ever had. Shrugging it off, he decided not to worry about what might happen. "Whatever they come up with won't be that bad and it's usually pretty funny."

"Whatever you say." They lapsed into silence for a few moments and Tom began thinking about the fun they'd had outside. "Do Duke and Mallory always fight like that?"

"You get used to it."

"I'd almost say they have a thing for each other." His best friend in high school had constantly fought with one of the girls on the track team. Two years after graduation, they'd gotten married and were one of the happiest couples he knew, occasional blow-ups notwithstanding.

Wildwing had to fight not to choke on his coffee at the suggestion. Managing to swallow, he finally allowed himself to laugh.

"No way," he shook his head, still chuckling. "Nosedive'll get a degree in astrophysics before those two ever get together."

"Okay." It seemed weird but, then again, these were aliens. Maybe they handled relationships differently. "Ever been in a goalie fight?" Somehow, he doubted it.

"Can't say I have." Hockey was about performing at the top of one's game and meeting challenges head on, not about fighting. He'd seen enough battles in his life and didn't need to add it to his favorite game.

"Want to tonight? The crowd loves a good fight. They always get louder and wilder if goalies get involved." He didn't really go for fights himself, but it was worth trying to get something arranged.

"We don't really fight," Wildwing reminded. "Besides, it's Matrem Yalda. Bad luck to fight on holidays."

"Yeah... I think I heard you guys saying something about that earlier. What is that?"

"It's kind of our Christmas and New Year's." Smiling wistfully, the white duck leaned back and told his friend a little more. "Back on Puckworld, we take a week off school and work to spend with family and friends. The whole city is lit up at night with lanterns and huge light displays. Everyone's houses are open to everyone else and people drop by for dinner or snacks. Pick up hockey games go on all night. It's pretty much impossible to drive anywhere because the streets are so full of celebrating ducks."

"Sounds amazing. And exhausting," he added on a second thought.

"Not really." Playing with his coffee cup, he continued. "Since everyone stays up so late, we usually sleep in until afternoon. Gotta say, that's one thing I'm really going to miss this year."

"The parties?"

"No. Playing with friends under the stars. I can't see that happening out in California or here. We'd probably have to go to Alaska or something and our schedule won't allow for that now. That and other things." Until they captured Dragaunus, there was no way they could abandon their responsibilities for an entire week. Everyone had agreed that the celebration they'd planned for tonight would have to be enough.

"The Igloo's roof opens," he said, using the nickname referring to the Civic Arena's domed shape and white exterior. "Or, it used to. The hydraulics for it are pretty sketchy, so it hasn't been opened for a couple of years now. Maybe we can open it tonight." The chances of making that happen before the game were plenty slim, but they might be able to afterwords.

"Really?" That would be an absolutely amazing surprise for everyone if they could make it happen.

"I'll have a chat with building maintenance. Don't get your hopes up, but I'll try." Finishing off his coffee, he set the cup aside. "Didn't you guys rent out one of the corporate suites tonight?"

Wildwing nodded and swallowed the last bite of his pastry.

"Yeah. We're having our party there after the game. Our hotel was already booked and Phil was able to sort out something with Craig. At least, I think that's your manager's name."

"Yeah, Craig Patrick. He's a pretty good guy when he doesn't have me catching stuffed penguins."

Wildwing laughed appreciatively at the joke. He might even like Phil a little more if he wasn't constantly being forced into embarrassing publicity stunts.

"Well," Tom pushed back his chair and stood. "It's been quite the morning. Thanks for the company and coffee." He began putting his heavy, black coat back on.

"Same." Wildwing stood as well and began stacking their dirty dishes.

"I can do that," the human tried to stop his fellow goalie from cleaning up his half of the mess.

"I got it," Wildwing ignored him and finished arranging everything neatly. When he returned from dropping off the used cups and plates at the front counter, Tom had finished bundling up for his return trip to the frigid outdoors.

"Been a pleasure," Tom smiled, extending a hand.

"See you on the ice," Wildwing promised as he accepted the handshake.

0000

"I don't know how the hell you pulled that move, Mallory, but it was illegal." Duke struggled under the awkward weight of his own duffel bag as well as Mallory's. He'd slung the straps diagonally across his chest in an attempt to balance the load, but the bulky bags weren't exactly cooperating.

"Like you'd know," the redhead scoffed. They'd occasionally add rewards or punishments to their sparring matches to up the stakes. Today, they had agreed that the looser had to carry the winner's gear from the hotel to the locker room.

"Hey, I know illegal."

"I know you do. But you don't know the first thing about martial arts. I beat you and you're jealous."

"I'd like to see you try that on the ice," he glared at the shorter duck, challenging her.

"I bet you would," she smirked right back, completely unphased.

Nosedive couldn't help but laugh at the thief and commando as the Mighty Ducks walked down the curved hallway of the Civic Arena. They had two hours to game time and he was more than ready to hit the ice. Well, he would be as soon as he managed to finish lugging his gear into the away team locker room, change, and get warmed up again. Normally, he'd get too antsy waiting for games to start and have to come up with something to distract himself with. Fortunately, Duke and Mallory were providing plenty of entertainment.

"Think they'll ever stop?" Tanya asked Wildwing jokingly.

"Nah," the leader laughed as he shifted the second, smaller bag he carried to a more comfortable position. "It'd get too boring around here if they did." Wildwing carried just as much as Duke; the only difference was that it was all his. Playing goalie had its downsides, extra padding being one of them. The second bag concealing his Matrem Yalda surprise was an unwieldy addition, but worth the hassle.

"I somehow doubt that," the tech replied. "Nosedive would probably keep things pretty interesting."

"You know it, girlfriend!" Nosedive laughed as he turned around to walk backwards, ignoring the danger of bumping into his bickering teammates.

"What'd you put in here anyway?" Duke complained. "Rocks?"

"Maybe."

"I don't understand why your bag's so much heavier than mine. We wear the same gear!"

"Not exactly the same," she reminded, one eyebrow raised.

"Aaah," he gruffly dismissed her teasing. "Don't think I'm going to forget this."

"Wouldn't dream of it! But, I promise revenge if you try anything. Now take your punishment like a big boy and be quiet."

"Oh, look!" Nosedive exclaimed as he found the right door and rushed ahead. "We're here." Pushing the door open, he vanished inside.

Duke stopped outside the door and looked at Mallory, clearly expecting her to hold the door open for him. She was the only one not carrying anything, after all.

"Fine," she sighed with an exaggerated eye roll and held the door open for everyone.

"Are we in the right place?" Tanya asked, confused by the black and gold sweatshirts and lightweight coats hanging from the otherwise empty player stalls. Each piece of clothing had a white envelope taped to it.

"Yes." Grin double checked the name plate next to the door they had entered.

Mallory took a closer look at the smallest coat and found her name written on the envelope. Opening it, she found a Christmas card.

_Wishing you a Christmas bright with joy_ was printed inside the sparkly, blue and white card. Signatures from the entire Puffins team were scattered around the printed verbiage. One in particular caught her eye.

_Hope this helps keep you warm the next time you play snow skip- Tom #35_

"Looks like Santa paid a visit," Nosedive joked as he read the card bearing his name.

"I might believe you, if Santa were a scrawny human who happened to play for the Puffins," Duke laughed.

"Nice," Wildwing smiled as he inspected the hooded sweatshirt that had been gifted to him. The puffins logo, a golden triangle behind a skating puffin wearing a scarf and holding a hockey stick, was screen printed across the front. Pittsburgh Puffins - Hockey - 1996 circled the graphic.

"Truly, a generous soul," Grin complimented. Amazingly, the coat hanging from his stall fit. It was extremely difficult for him to find clothing that was broad enough in the shoulders and long enough to fit properly; that's why he preferred wearing tank tops.

"Somethin' wrong?" Duke asked, glancing at Tanya as she held up her sweatshirt to her shoulders and looked a little sad.

"Oh, uh, nothing." She shook her head and shoved the sweatshirt aside. Sitting down, she began unzipping her duffel bag and removing her padding and jersey.

"Hey," Duke held out the jacket he'd been given. "Wanna trade? I'd rather have a sweatshirt anyway."

Tanya studied him for a moment before retrieving the sweatshirt from behind her and handing it over. She was grateful for his tactful offer. People always assumed she was either much larger or smaller than she really was. It should be flattering that Tom had estimated her size small, but it was just another reminder of how she was always overlooked. Checking the tag inside the jacket, she smiled slightly. The jacket was too big for Duke, but it would fit her nicely.

"Hey!" Mallory shouted from behind Duke, startling him.

Duke's shoulders jerked with surprise and he turned to glare at the redhead.

"What?" He did not sound amused.

"Can I have my bag now, please?" Smiling sweetly, she pointed to the violet bag at his feet.

"Get it yourself," he grumbled as he kicked it towards her.

"You're just a grumpy old drake," Mallory teased as she winked at Tanya.

"I'm old enough to teach you a thing or two."

"Apparently, I knew a few things you don't. I'd be happy to show you, if you weren't a sore looser."

Wildwing couldn't help but think about what Tom had said earlier. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't decide if those two were flirting or fighting, not that it really mattered. Shrugging it off, he made a mental note to think about it later. Right now, they had a game to win.

"What the?" Mallory's startled and confused exclamation broke through the leader's reverie. "Where did you get _those_?"

"HockeyGiant. Where else?" Nosedive laughed as he continued re-lacing his skates. Even Duke had given up on the mess that Wildwing and Tom had created and resorted to cutting the skates apart. Nosedive had planned on changing out the laces with the red and green ones he'd bought at the local hockey supply store last week anyway, so it really didn't bother him. "I've got an extra set if you want them," he offered, motioning to his bag. He'd had to buy a pair of green and a pair of red to get the right combination, but laces were cheap.

"Not a chance."

Wildwing knew to be extra careful going over his gear after pulling that prank. Nosedive had been left alone with it for over an hour and could have done heaven knows what. If he hadn't been paying attention, he wouldn't have found the cut lace on his own skates until it snapped during warm up.

"I'll take them, Dive." Why not? He needed to replace the disaster-waiting-to-happen anyway. Besides, the media really seemed to like it when they copied each other. Even if Phil wasn't here to demand they give interviews, he knew the importance of presenting a good image and inevitability of being accosted by reporters.

"You two are incorrigible," Mallory sighed.

"So?" Nosedive smiled up at her from his seat on the floor.

Laughing it off, Mallory hefted her bag onto her shoulder and moved it over to her player stall. Despite all the snark and insults, she loved her teammates. The only thing better than the good-natured atmosphere that surrounded them while getting ready for a game was the elation of winning. Well, that and putting Duke in his place.


	4. Let the celebration begin

**02/05/2014**- It's DONE! I can hardly believe it. Finally, this story is done. I hope you guys enjoy more duck partying and learning a little more about their culture.

My next story will be published on 3/4/2014. Until then, I will be working on it so you can have weekly updates. Then, it's back to my novel. If you would like to follow along with my writing process or see what I'm up to, I have a tumblr. It's linked in my profile, or you can go to mari-lwydDOTtumblrDOTcom.

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"Aw, man, that game ruled!" Nosedive cheered and punched the air. "Last second save by the White Wall and a hat trick by yours truly." Having ice skates on his feet didn't stop the bounce in his step as the victorious team re-entered the guest locker room.

"Hah!" Mallory scoffed. "Listening to you, I'd think there wasn't anyone out there besides you and Wildwing." Teasingly, she poked his back with the end of her hockey stick.

"Oooh, yeah," Nosedive stopped and leaned into the stick. "Little higher." Wiggling his shoulder, he rubbed against the titanium blade.

"Scratch your own back," the redhead laughed, delivering a calculated jab under his shoulder pads.

"You did a beautiful job with the assists tonight, sweetheart," Duke smiled.

"I think their offense was scared of Grin," Tanya joked.

The giant drake chuckled as he removed his helmet and set it aside on his bench. He had indeed turned up the intimidation factor tonight. All it really took was projecting an aura of aggression, even if he had no intent of following through. Not everyone was enlightened enough to recognize exactly what energy he was directing at them but they certainly felt it and reacted accordingly.

"Good game out there tonight," Wildwing complimented. "Keep this up and we'll win the Stanley Cup."

Mallory made a face as she stripped off her soaked jersey and hung it on a hook. Putting her gear away while it was wet would only make her bag and everything else smell even worse than it already did. Thankfully, they had the run of the arena for a few hours. It wouldn't be a problem for them to leave their equipment spread out and come back for it later.

"Phew," Duke ran his hands through his sweaty hair, making an even bigger mess of it. "Mal, Tanya, you two better hurry up and get those showers or I'm gonna beat you in there."

"Yeah, yeah," Tanya snorted in derision. She knew he was all talk. Now, if Nosedive had made that threat, she'd probably be worried.

"Who brought the laundry bag?" Mallory asked. If they didn't have the luxury of handing off their dirty laundry to an equipment crew, she'd have brought her own. As it was, things were easier for everyone if they only had to hand over one bag to Chuck when they got back.

"Uh, you?" Nosedive hopped around on one foot, trying to get his skate off.

"If I brought it, I wouldn't be asking," Mallory chided.

"Thought it was your turn," Duke added.

"Um..." Tanya stared into the depths of her violet duffel. "I think I brought it." Confusion covered her face as she pulled out a large, white canvas bag. What should have been an empty sack was lumpy and filled with something.

"Oh great," Nosedive moaned. "Tanya, don't you know you're supposed to leave the dirty laundry at home?"

The tech's shoulder started shaking with laughter and she hid her eyes behind one hand after looking inside the bag. Shaking her head, she tried to get control of herself.

"Um... Okay." Duke glanced at Wilding and shrugged. Maybe she'd hit the boards too hard after all when Sviridov bowled into her.

Frowning, Mallory took the bag and looked inside. One quick glance at the contents was all it took and the corner of her beak twisted upwards as she tried to suppress laughter of her own.

"Here, Duke," the redhead managed to speak before laughing. Reaching into the bag, she withdrew a bottle of Advil and threw it at him. "I found the first aid supplies!"

Duke caught it and stared at the blue and white bottle for a moment before smiling as well. Chuckling quietly, he set it on the bench and continued to neatly lay out his smelly equipment.

"Why is the first aid kit in the laundry bag?" Wildwing stared at Tanya, utterly baffled.

"I have no idea," Tanya gasped. Meeting her captain's eyes, she shrugged and continued to snort with laughter. "I'm sure it made sense at the time!"

"Girly girl, we gotta keep a better eye on you next time you start fixing things," Nosedive joined in.

Grin quietly exited the room, leaving the rest of the ducks to laugh at Tanya's occasional forgetfulness. Finding a Puffin's rink employee, he made his request and returned to continue cleaning up.

"Hey, where'd you run off to, big guy?" Duke asked when he saw the other gray drake return.

"Just an errand," he rumbled.

"Here," Mallory handed off the spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol and water to Tanya. "Done with my gear." Spraying the sweat soaked equipment with the mixture was the best way to stop it from stinking, even if it did take a little longer to dry.

"Thanks." Tanya started spraying down her shoulder pads, completely oblivious to Duke's glare.

"Can't you do that later?" Deciding he'd had enough of waiting, he grabbed his clean clothes and toiletry bag and started for the showers.

"No way, Duke!" Mallory quickly grabbed her stuff and darted in front of him. "Ladies first, remember?" Turning on her heel, she sauntered into the tiled room, tossing a towel over her shoulder.

"Nice try," Tanya teased. Shoving the spray bottle into his chest, she followed Mallory.

"Leave some hot water this time, why don't ya?" he shouted as he turned around.

"You know that never works," Wildwing reminded him. No matter how long Mallory or Tanya took, the water tanks were always able to produce enough hot water. Fussing at them that the guys had to deal with cold showers never made the girls go any faster; if anything, it made Mallory take longer.

"Clean your pads," Duke grumbled and took a seat to wait.

Wildwing ignored Duke's attitude and continued spraying his own mixture of baking soda and water onto his goal pads, rubbing it in with a cloth. The white drake was fastidious about keeping his gear as pristine as the day he had purchased it. Keeping white padding completely white was a challenge; most goalies ended up with dirty gray and black streaks covering their legs by the time a season was half over. The extra work was worth it; anything white on the ice appeared larger and he used that to his advantage. The combination of his white feathers, white away jersey, white mask, and white padding served to make him appear nearly as large as Grin as well as make it more difficult for players to know where an opening might appear.

A soft knock on the door caused Wildwing, Nosedive, and Duke to glance at each other. Grin stood and opened the heavy, oak door. Instead of the rink employee he had expected, Tom Barrasso stood there with Craig Patrick, the Puffins manager.

"Hello," Grin greeted as he stood aside.

"Evening," Tom replied as he entered. "I think you wanted this?" He held out a new trash bag.

"Yes. Thank you." Taking the plastic bag, he shook it open and began moving the first aid supplies from the laundry bag.

"Tom, Craig," Wildwing shook their hands. "Great game tonight."

"Not as good as yours," Tom smiled. "That was a pretty impressive last second save."

"Heh." The white drake glanced away. "Thank you for the shirts and jackets," he quickly changed the subject to something other than himself.

"Glad you liked them," Craig interjected. "If anything doesn't fit, you can stop by the team store before it closes and exchange them."

"You did a pretty good job; everything fit. I know we'll appreciate the extra layer when we go back to the hotel tonight."

"You might need it earlier than that." Tom smiled broadly, clearly excited about something.

"Tom said something about today being a special holiday for you," Craig added as he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "I believe skating under the stars is an important part of it?"

"You could say that," Duke agreed as he joined in. "Normally, we'd stay up til dawn skatin' and partyin' but that ain't gonna happen this year."

"I spoke with maintenance and they said they've been working on repairing the hydraulics. Luckily, they finished last week." Craig handed Wildwing a folded piece of paper with a key taped to it. "These are instructions for opening the roof and the key to the control room. Just lock the door and leave the key on the desk in there before leaving."

"That is most generous," Grin spoke from across the room as he gathered the dirty jerseys and put them into the now available laundry sack.

"Thank you," Wildwing echoed as he took the paper and key. "You have no idea how much this means to us."

"Dude! You guys rock!" Nosedive charged over and wrapped his arms around both humans. "Awesome!" Releasing them he tried snatching the paper and key. "Come on, bro. Let's go open the roof now and move the party to the ice!"

Wildwing turned to the side and held the desired objects aloft, safely out of the overly-enthusiastic youth's reach. Grinning in amusement at his sibling's antics, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Haha!" Craig laughed too, completely taken off guard by the hug. "I guess he just gave me an idea of how important this is. I'm going to ask that you guys hold off at least an hour before opening the roof. We want to give all the fans and employees a chance to get to their cars before bringing the cold inside."

"I think we can do that," Wildwing agreed, holding Nosedive at arm's length by keeping his hand on the blond head and pushing as Nosedive tried to get closer and steal the key. "Grin?" Wildwing shook the paper in his hand and held it out to the defensedrake.

Grin took the instructions and crossed his arms, looming above the brothers. When Nosedive tried to get it from him, he merely leaned down slightly and produced the most serious look he could muster. He was rewarded with a quick smile and retreat as Nosedive found something else to occupy his attention.

"We'll be leaving you now," Craig said as he extended his hand again. "Merry Christmas."

"Have a great party!" Tom shook the leader's hand again as well.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Wildwing waved to the Puffin's player and manager as they left.

"Nice buncha humans," Duke mused. "They normally ain't so friendly. Guess I like this Christmas thing of theirs if it makes them more accepting."

"What are you, six?" Wildwing chided Nosedive's attempted theft once the door was closed.

"Dude, it's party time. Who needs maturity?"

"How's this any different than how he normally acts?" Duke joked. "Hey, Wing, want me to bring the Migrator around? We can leave it in the parking lot here. Be easier to load up the gear instead of lugging it back to the hotel tonight."

"Sounds like a good idea. The keys are in my-" He stopped short when the gray drake held the keys up. "Fine, go ahead." For someone who had been so eager to get his shower earlier, Duke's sudden willingness to venture out into the cold was suspect. He'd have to be sure to double check both the Migrator and his bags to make sure nothing was missing or out of place.

Duke smiled to himself as he donned his maroon trench coat and exited the locker room. Lightly tapping the pocket, he double checked that the hotel key Nosedive had given him was still in there.

0000

Duke wasn't surprised that everyone else had beat him to the luxury suite. Bringing the Migrator around to the arena had taken a lot longer than he'd expected; Pittsburgh's plethora of one way streets had forced him to drive in circles before finally finding the entrance to the parking lot. Even Wildwing was done in the locker room by the time he finally managed to get the hot shower he'd been craving.

Following Matrem Yalda custom, the door had been propped open so anyone who wanted to could join in. The rented room was more than large enough for their small group and could have easily held another thirty people. Dark gray carpeting contrasted with sandstone walls and white, marble-topped tables. An entirely glass wall provided a spectacular view of the nearly empty arena far below. A large television surrounded by comfortable couches and chairs gave a better view of the game for anyone who didn't care to watch from a distance. He was surprised to find that a piano had been wheeled in as well as a very impressive buffet spread. Everything about the room spoke of wealth and, to his disgust, corporate. He'd seen enough of rooms like this growing up and knew the type of people that probably rented it out most often. Pushing the foul memories aside, he focused on the food lining the wall to his left.

The Puffins' catering staff was just as skilled as the Duck's. A plethora of tasty dishes from baked fish to fruit salad in a carved watermelon bowl lined the pale counter top. Grin's dumplings floated in a crockpot near the middle of the buffet and a selection of sodas, water, iced tea, and liquor were at the end. Tradition demanded at least one platter of _ajil_, a mixture of nuts and dried fruit, be made available for night long grazing; this required dish was conspicuously missing from the lined up offerings.

"Took you long enough," Nosedive teased as Duke inspected the selection of food. "What'd you do, drive to Anaheim and back?"

Ignoring him, Duke continued to search the untouched food in hopes that he had overlooked his favorite Yaldan snack.

"Duke!" Wildwing's cheerful voice greeted. "There you are. We were waiting on you before getting started." He casually popped some _ajil_ in his mouth as he walked over.

"Bout time!" Mallory teased from her seat on the couch. She, Tanya, and Grin were engaged in some sort of card game.

"Where'd you get that?" Duke motioned to the nuts in Wildwing's hand.

"Over there." Jerking a thumb towards the card covered table their teammates sat around. Grin's large form blocked the view of half the table, obscuring the bowl of trail mix.

Delighted that the fruity mixture hadn't been forgotten, Duke eagerly joined the others at the table.

"Here," Mallory held her carefully folded group of cards out to Duke. "You can have my hand. I'm going to get some food."

"Thanks." Taking the cards with one hand, he dug into the bowl and filled his other hand with the delicacy. Carefully inspecting the cards while he ate, he tried to figure out what they were playing.

"Dai Hinmin," Grin spoke as if reading his mind.

"Pass." Tanya once more folded her card fan closed after inspecting them.

Nodding to himself, Grin lay down two eights.

Wildwing came over to watch, a plate full of delicacies in hand. Mallory joined him a few moments later, plate carefully balanced on top of a full glass of water. They both ate and commented on the game as they ate dinner.

Nosedive poured half the Dr. Pepper into several cups before screwing the cap tightly closed. Glancing over to make sure nobody was watching, he shook the bottle vigorously. While he waited for the fizz to die down, he went through the buffet, taking humongous servings of everything. As badly as he wanted to, he didn't take the entire crock pot of _tanguyan_. He'd had some when Grin had made them a few days ago and loved the sweet, gummy texture; the mildly alcoholic broth wasn't bad either with its infusion of spices. Setting his plate aside, the young drake checked on his prepared prank. The fizz had died down completely and nobody was looking his direction. Smiling to himself, he held the bottle firmly down with his right hand while he pressed his middle finger against the slightly loosened cap. Moving his hand forward in one swift motion, he spun the cap off his hand and wrist, releasing the built up pressure inside the plastic container. The lid exploded off the bottle with the volume of a gunshot, startling everyone in the room.

"Nosedive!" Mallory glared at him, a wet large wet spot down the middle of her shirt from where she'd spilled her drink when the noise startled her. Eyes narrowed, she watched for the slightest muscle twitch. The second he moved his hands away from the bottle, she bolted over the back of the couch and gave chase.

Nosedive ran from the room at top speed, grabbing the door frame on his way out to help with the sudden change in direction. His raucous laughter floated down the hallway, betraying his direction.

"Ten bucks on Mallory," Duke calmly lay down three kings and waited for Grin to make the next move.

"Pass," the pacifist drake declined his turn.

"Fifteen on Nosedive," Wildwing accepted the bet. His brother was in high spirits today and would be extra fast, even after their vigorous game. Something about holidays always gave him excess energy, which made for very interesting family gatherings. Wildwing almost felt bad for the other ducks; they'd never experienced a Matrem Yalda with a sugar-hyped up Nosedive and had no idea what to expect.

"My money's on Mallory." Tanya met Duke's gaze and smiled deviously at him before laying down her joker, two, and ace. Laughing quietly, she leaned back and crossed her arms, daring him to beat her perfect hand.

"Aw- what!" Duke stared at the cards, up to her, and back at the cards before folding up his and tossing them on the table. "Aaah. I should have known better than to play with you." Standing, he grabbed another handful of _ajil_ from the bowl. "You're a card counter." With that, he walked around the couch to get his dinner.

"It's not something I try to do," Tanya protested. "I run the probabilities without even thinking about it!"

"We should all be so cursed," Duke teased, loading up a plate with eggplant stew, saffron rice, and plain yogurt. He studied the chunky, orange mixture dotted with raisins once more before hopefully adding a spoonful to his already full plate. "Please tell me that's _halva_."

"It is," Wildwing confirmed, moving to one of the tables. "My mom's recipe. Don't ask me how, but Nosedive has it memorized."

"Sometimes, I think he's as bad as Tanya with randomly remembering things," Duke joked.

"Our little friend has many hidden talents," Grin added. He made sure he was served last. Having the largest appetite of the team, he wanted to make sure everyone else had enough before he selected his sizable servings. "I suspect that will not be the last surprise from him tonight."

Wildwing smiled quietly at the observation and glanced at the piano before once more focusing on his food.

Mallory proudly re-entered the room, her perfect posture even more upright, if such a thing were possible. The smug look on her face was enough to tell them who had been victorious. Gathering her plate from the couch, she carried it over to the rest of her team and took a seat next to Tanya.

"You loose," Duke smirked at Wildwing.

Rolling his eyes, the leader ignored him.

"You owe us each fifteen," Tanya reminded.

"Seriously, Mallory?" Nosedive complained as he came through the door, soaking wet from mid-chest up. He rubbed at his hair with a towel and laughed. "It was only a little noise!"

"You know better," she cooly replied. "Try it again and see how wet you get next time."

Laughing at his brother's misfortune, Wildwing walked over and put one arm around his shoulder.

"Next time," he admonished, "Run faster. You just cost me thirty bucks." As punishment for the lost cash, the congenial arm on shoulder quickly became a headlock followed by a knuckle sandwich.

"Gah! Ow! Wing!" Struggling, the left wing finally managed to break free. Smoothing his damp hair back into place, he regathered his nonexistent dignity and tracked down the previously abandoned plate of food.

"Hehe," Duke chuckled softly. "What'd she do to ya this time, kid?"

"Dunked me in the slush tub." All of the water and sludge the zamboni used to clean the ice had to be dumped somewhere. Every arena had a large basin for the water and ice chunks to drain in.

"You got down there that fast?" Tanya was astounded; they had to be flying to make it all the way to the rink and back in the short time they had been gone.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded. "He's lucky I didn't catch him sooner or it'd have been a swirly."

"Yuck," Nosedive pulled the most disgusted face he could manage.

Two sharp raps on the door drew the ducks attention away from their meal. Craig Patrick stood there, a slightly concerned look on his face.

"Everything okay?" the manager asked. He had finally finished up with his duties to the team and was on his way out the door when he saw Mallory and Nosedive running through the hallways at a speed that shouldn't have been physically possible, especially after they had played all three periods without any relief players.

"Yeah, we're fine," Duke soothed. "The kids are just wound up and needed to work off some energy." His head jerked and he glared at Mallory as she kicked his shin.

"Would you care to join us?" Grin offered.

"Thanks, but my family's here and we're looking forward to going home and watching It's A Wonderful Life."

Wildwing scooped some of the _ajil_ into an empty cup and held it out to Craig.

"Something for the road," he offered.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly." Raising his hand palm up, he tried to refuse. This was their celebration and he shouldn't have intruded in the first place.

"Come on, Craig," Nosedive urged. "You're going to hurt our feelings if you don't take it!"

"It is traditional to share the bounty of the past year with friends and neighbors on the darkest night," Grin explained.

"Oh, well..." Craig looked at the plastic cup and took it, unsure of the contents. "What is this?"

"_Ajil-e Shab-e Yalda_," Tanya explained. "You don't really have a word that's a good translation. Night-grazing would probably be closest. It's pretty much just a mixture of uh, cashews, almonds, mulberries, apricots, raisins, pistachios, hazelnuts, and, um, lokum. I think you call it turkish delight here. It's supposed to give you a prosperous new year, if you believe that sort of thing."

"Thank you." Craig willingly took a bite of the lumpy, green, gelatinous square sitting on top. He immediately recognized the light, sweet flavor as turkish delight. "I'll share this on the way home. My daughter ought to love it. Have a, uh... Happy Yalda?"

"Merry Christmas," Wildwing offered.

Smiling, the human waved and once again vanished from sight.

"Kid, you're gonna have to give me the recipe for this _halva_. It's almost exactly the way Torey used ta make it."

Mallory raised an eyebrow at the mention of Torey. Duke never, ever spoke about his past. For all they knew, he didn't even have parents!

"Sure," Nosedive nodded, half paying attention. Clearly, he was mentally elsewhere. His fingers drummed the table rhythmically, as if playing a half-remembered song.

"Who's Torey?" Tanya asked the question everyone wanted to know but was afraid to ask.

"Family friend." Duke brushed off the question. "Been over a decade since I saw her last. Don't even know if she's still alive, or Duran. He was her husband." Shrugging, he finished the food on his plate.

"I've got to admit," Mallory started. "This is probably the nicest Yalda celebration I've ever been to. Any event with my family was always so stressful I wanted to pull my hair out before anyone even came over."

"And here I thought you liked to party," Nosedive teased.

"I do. My mom didn't. We'd have to spend the whole week before cleaning and cooking and planning and getting so freaked out over every little thing that could go wrong that we couldn't enjoy the party when it actually happened."

"Ouch," Tanya sympathized. "We always went to my grandparents, but my dad would get pretty uptight if things weren't exactly right." Smiling at the memory, she continued. "But my grandma would always shake her wooden spoon at him and remind him that he wasn't in charge and he'd better behave himself. She wasn't above whacking anyone on the beak with that spoon if they misbehaved!"

"Ooh." Nosedive winced and covered his beak. "I don't think I'd like your grandma."

"At least she wouldn't throw you in the slush sink," Wildwing teased.

"Ey, what were Matrem Yalda's like at the Flashblade's?" Duke was curious about their family. They had to have come from a good one, considering how well they got along.

"Insane," Wildwing answered at the same time Nosedive half-shouted, "Awesome!" Shaking his head and half rolling his eyes at his brother's enthusiasm, Wildwing clarified. "We usually hosted the biggest party on the block. Our parents both came from large families, so the house was packed with aunts and uncles and cousins. As if that wasn't enough, half the neighbors and their families would come over too. Then there was that one year the entire fire department joined in! I've got to admit, they were all pretty good singers. I'm still not sure I'm entirely straight on who we're related to and who was just a friend of a friend..." Laughing, he elbowed Nosedive. "And this psycho here-"

"Feeling the love, bro." He contemplated throwing some of the food at Wildwing, but decided not to. Why waste perfectly good saffron rice?

"Let's just say, if anything went wrong, he was in the middle of it."

"That does not surprise me," Grin finally joined in.

"What about you?" Mallory looked up at the larger duck. "I know you don't celebrate Matrem Yalda. What'd you do?"

"I would partake in my families celebrations, even if I chose a different spiritual path. For me, Nocte Dongzhi is about balance. It is honoring both the darkness that surrounds us and appreciating the light for what it shows us. We are reminded in this darkest spell that it is family who will always support us. Family is not always who we are related to by blood, but who we choose to share our lives with. This is the time of year to strengthen those bonds and draw closer to our loved ones."

"Grinster," Nosedive broke the silence that followed what was, for Grin, a rather long description, "You're way out there, but we like you anyway."

Wildwing couldn't help but laugh at Nosedive's earnest appraisal. Nothing ever phased that drake.

"So," Nosedive jumped up excitedly. "Wing, you ready for a little music?"

"I didn't see a stereo," Mallory glanced around, sure she had missed it.

"Didn't see the piano?" Duke teased.

"It's not like any of us-" She paused as Nosedive sat at the black bench and lifted the lid covering the keys. "Play?"

Interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms forward, Nosedive cracked his knuckles and stretched his hands while Wildwing moved a chair next to him. The white drake pulled the second bag he'd been carrying around out from under the piano and unzipped it to reveal an acoustic guitar. Both Flashblades ignored each other for a minute while they prepared their instruments. Nosedive played a few quick scales and Wildwing kept playing the same chord and re-tuning the guitar.

"This ought to be interesting," Tanya mused. She'd never have expected that either of them would know how to play an instrument.

Wildwing began by tapping the side of his guitar lightly with his thumb and Nosedive nodded in time to the rhythm. After a moment, he began playing the piano.

Soft, gentle notes flowed from the black instrument. Quietly, the tune rose and fell, evoking images of moonlight over a snowy landscape. Minor notes created a haunting melody, blanketing the room in stillness. Wildwing's guitar picked up the rhythm, adding its own voice to the still song.

The brothers played in perfect harmony, neither missing a beat or note. This was a song everyone knew well. It was one of the traditional Yaldan hymns and told the story of how empty and lonely the world was for Yalda. She wandered around the dark landscape, wishing for someone to keep her company. The animals she met were friendly and partially soothed her ache for companionship, but they weren't enough. Finally, frustrated with the silence and isolation, she began building a duck out of snow. Such love and care was poured into the creation of her snow friend that he looked as if he could move and breathe. Knowing how lonely she was, she couldn't leave him there without a friend, so she made another snowduck to keep him company. It was the longest, darkest night of the year when she began her work. As the first rays of sun danced over the horizon and touched the snow sculptures, the ice covering them began to melt. Yalda watched as the cold dripped away from them and what had once been nothing more than snow and a wish became living flesh and blood. These were her children, the first of the avian race.

Changing from minor to major chords, the song became more powerful, more joyful. Piano and guitar sang of the miracle that created life on Puckworld. The room remained completely silent as the final, triumphant notes faded away.

"Wow." Mallory's one word summed up everyone's thoughts perfectly. Not only could they play, but they were both very, very good.

"That was most delightful," Grin complimented.

"You two are good," Tanya added, absolutely stunned.

"Know any Anche'Navia?" Duke knew a skilled pianist when he heard one. The opera's Anche'Navia had written were some of the most difficult to play, but also some of the most beautiful when done well.

"I can't," Wildwing shook his head.

"Ahh, don't be modest," Nosedive chided. "You do fine on Parte Silvestris." Without waiting for Wildwing to say anything, he instantly began playing the incredibly intricate introduction. His fingers fairly flew across the keys, lightly striking them in a rolling, dancing rhythm. This song was one he absolutely loved and had memorized years ago. If Wildwing chose to join in, awesome; if not, it wasn't going to stop him. He couldn't help but smile when he heard the softly plucked notes coming from his left at the right moment. Unfortunately, the song was far too short for his liking.

Duke started clapping the moment they finished. This was something he'd never admit how much he missed. He hadn't had the opportunity to sit and simply listen to a truly skilled musician in nearly a decade. It brought back memories that had once been painful, but time had taken the edge from them.

"Thank you, thank you," Nosedive bowed, soaking up the approval of his teammates while Wildwing quietly sat to the side. "Please, no autographs."

"Hah!" Mallory scoffed. "If I wanted your autograph, I'd steal your comics. But, it is nice to see that you can actually apply yourself to something other than making my life miserable."

"You know, I've got to admit, you two have me completely surprised," Tanya stammered. "How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was five," Nosedive shrugged. "Our mom was real smart about getting us to practice. Every half hour we practiced got us out of house chores. Wing and I hated cleaning the bathrooms, so we always fought to be the one with more practice hours to get out of it. When we started doing competitions and stuff, placing in the top five got us new hockey gear. Mom really knew how to motivate us."

"I think he hates cleaning bathrooms more than I do," Wildwing smiled. "He usually got out of more chores."

"That's because you were more concerned with playing goalie with Canard," Nosedive reminded.

"Show us what else you got," Duke encouraged.

"It is most soothing to hear songs from home played so well." If it were physically possible, Grin looked even more serene than usual.

"All right." Nosedive eagerly turned around and began whispering with Wildwing, working out a short play list.

After several songs, Mallory could tell they needed a break. It was so refreshing to hear music that had been missing from all of their lives for the past two and a half years that nobody wanted them to stop. However, she had a surprise of her own and now seemed like as good a time as any to present it. Standing, she stretched and loosened up muscles that had silently fallen asleep as she enjoyed the small symphony.

"I know we typically don't exchange gifts on Puckworld," Mallory spoke up, "But we're on Earth and I figured we could do a little bit of their Christmas holiday." Retrieving a paper sack from the floor near the glass wall, she began pulling out beautifully wrapped packages. "I hope you guys don't mind if I bought you all some things."

"Thank you, Mallory," Wildwing was ever bit as surprised as she had expected he would be. "But, I didn't get you anything."

"Your music was a gift to us all," Grin reminded.

"Yeah! Besides, I don't expect anything. I was out shopping and thought you guys might like these." Double checking the name she had written on the festively decorated package, she handed the first one to Tanya.

"Oh! Um... Thanks." She gratefully took the red and green package and began removing the paper. Inside, she discovered a massive tome titled War and Peace. Flipping it over to the back cover, she discovered it was a historical war novel that took place in Russia. "This looks interesting." It was certainly long enough to hold her attention for the next week or so.

"I hope you like it. This one's for you, Grin." The blue wrapped package she handed him was much smaller than the one she gave Tanya. Her gift was accepted with a bow.

"Sidhartha," he read the title of his book out loud after unwrapping it. "Thank you. This looks to be most enlightening."

"And for Nosedive..."

He eagerly tore into the paper, sending it flying. At first, he frowned when he discovered that he too had been given a book, but the confused expression quickly turned to one of joy as he read the title.

"A Hundred and One Pranks for Office, Home, and School. All right!" He flipped it open and instantly began looking for something good.

"I've already read that book," Mallory warned. "So don't even think about trying any of those on me. I know exactly what to expect."

"You just had to encourage him," Tanya groaned.

"Hey," Mallory shrugged. "Know your enemy. At least now I'm prepared. This one's for you Wildwing."

Wildwing neatly ran a finger under the tape and carefully unwrapped the gift. His suspicions that it was a book were confirmed as the red paper fell away. _Great Generals of the Revolutionary War_ looked to be right up his alley. He loved learning about history and had recently chosen to study the tactics of legendary commanders. If nothing else, it helped him learn how to be a better leader himself.

"Thank you, Mallory. I appreciate it."

Smiling to herself, she set the bag down and headed back to the table for another drink.

"Hey," Duke sounded offended. "What about me?"

"What about you?" she smirked.

"You gonna get something for everyone and ignore me?"

"Fine," she relented. "If you're going to be such a big baby about it." Reaching into the bag, she pulled out the last present.

"Knew you couldn't resist." He happily reached out for the present. She placed it in his hand, but didn't let go. Tugging at it, he finally managed to pry it away from her. Chuckling at the fickle redhead, he opened his book. The title instantly had him laughing.

"What?" Nosedive was curious what could possibly be so funny about the book.

Snickering, Duke held it up for all to read. _Pickups and Come-On's for All Occasions_ was embossed in large, gold letters on the olive cover.

"As if you need that," Tanya snorted in derision.

Wildwing had to admit, he'd never have thought Mallory would be the one to hand out books to everyone. But, she had made excellent choices and tailored the gifts to each duck perfectly. Maybe the pickup lines book was a little strange, but Duke seemed to like it well enough.

The barely suppressed laughter coming from Duke as he flipped through the book was driving Nosedive nuts. Every time the one eyed duck turned a page, he'd quietly laugh to himself and shake his head.

"Can I see that?" the youth asked.

"Nah." Eyes never leaving the page, Duke continued to read.

"Then what's so funny?" Nosedive leaned over the back of the couch and tried reading over his shoulder.

Folding the book closed, Duke turned to look Nosedive squarely in the eye. With absolute sincerity, he delivered the last line he had read.

"Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?"

"What?" Nosedive stared at him, utterly confused that the older duck would be hitting on him.

"I was blinded by your beauty," Duke continued. "I'm going to need your name and number for insurance purposes."

"Dude, you've had way too much to drink," Nosedive scoffed as he left to get some more food.

"But, Nosedive," Duke jumped over the couch back and followed him, book in hand. "Life without you is like a broken pencil... Pointless!"

"Buwahaha!" Tanya couldn't help it. Duke following Nosedive around the room like a lovesick puppy, delivering the world's cheesiest pickup lines was one of the funnies things she'd seen in a very long time.

"You must be one heck of a thief, 'cause you stole my heart from across the room."

"Come on, cut it out!"

"I really hope you have a jersey. Cause, baby, I need your name and number."

"Stop!"

Wildwing joined Mallory by the glass wall, chuckling at his brother and Duke.

"Good choice in books," he complimented.

"I thought so," she smiled as she took another drink of pomegranate wine.

"Anyone up for some skating?" Wildwing asked. He was certainly ready to hit the ice again. It wasn't a real Yaldan celebration until they were on the ice and under the stars.

"Please!" Nosedive almost sounded desperate.

"Tanya, you want to come open the roof with me?" Wildwing offered. If there were any issues with the hydraulics, she'd be the one to know exactly what to do.

"Sure." Grabbing her cup of juice, Tanya followed him out of the room.

Once the roof had opened fully, the leader and tech rejoined their group on the ice. Everyone else was already lazily skating around, enjoying the now-rare opportunity to do something that they had taken for granted on Puckworld.

It was two a.m. before they finally decided to start gathering up their things and loading the Migrator. They'd have stayed in the arena celebrating until dawn if the rental agreement they'd signed had allowed for it. Unfortunately, they had to finish packing up their half-dried hockey gear and load up the Migrator. Duke and Mallory closed the roof while Wildwing and Nosedive moved their equipment into the massive vehicle. Tanya and Grin packed up the leftovers and made sure the rented room was in good condition.

Satisfied that his team had everything under control, Wildwing waited for everyone by the exit. It was nice to have some quiet time with just him and Nosedive. At least his brother understood that he occasionally needed quiet and to be almost alone. Nosedive quietly waited with him and looked out the door at the night sky.

Grin and Tanya came down the now shut-off escalator, carrying the aluminum foil containers their meal had been in. It was cold enough outside that they could leave the food in the Migrator without fear of spoilage.

"Any idea what's taking Duke and Mallory so long?" Nosedive asked around a yawn.

"I knew I should have gone with Duke to close the roof," Tanya lamented. "Why did we let Mallory near anything mechanical?"

"Because she volunteered," Wildwing answered.

Finally, Duke and Mallory showed up. They looked a little too pleased with themselves and both seemed to be in particularly good moods.

"Took you long enough," Nosedive chided.

"Yeah, door got stuck," Duke shrugged nonchalantly. "Had ta figure another way in. At least the roof closed easy enough."

"Let's just go back to the hotel," Wildwing suggested. He was tired, even if he didn't want to admit it. He held the door open for everyone as they stepped into the frigid cold that had seized the city.

"You sure you wanna do that?" Duke asked, glancing towards the nearly full moon. "We could stay out here and wait for dawn."

"Sounds good to me." For once, Grin sounded almost normal.

"I think I'll stay out here too," Mallory agreed.

"Why not?" Shrugging, Wildwing gave in. After all, they only did this once a year.

0000

Wildwing had no idea what time it was, but the sun had finally made its appearance about half an hour ago and they were now all ready to finally get some sleep. Tanya and Mallory vanished into their room and Duke and Grin walked down the hall towards theirs.

Nosedive leaned against the wall, half asleep, waiting for his brother to open the door. When they finally made it inside, he walked straight to the bed and collapsed face down.

"Take your boots off," Wildwing's tired voice directed.

"Mm-hmm." Eyes still closed, he rolled over and pulled the boots from his feet. Letting them fall to the floor, he curled up tightly and was instantly asleep.

Fighting a massive yawn, Wildwing pulled the curtains closed to block out any of the light. Stumbling to his bed, he suddenly realized something. His away bag was missing. Great. Pushing one of the curtains half open once more, he looked under the bed for the green duffel bag. The hotel room wasn't that big; it had to be around here somewhere. Worried that someone had broken into their room while they were gone, he double checked that Nosedive's stuff was okay. It looked like all of his stuff was intact. Only Wildwing's items were missing; not a single thing that was his could be found in the room.

Groaning, he realized what had happened. Duke must have gotten revenge for the skates. It was too early to deal with this sort of thing. If Duke had taken his stuff, he'd get it back eventually. If it was stolen, there was nothing he could do about it while half asleep. Deciding he didn't care, the white drake threw his boots on the floor next to Nosedive's and pulled the covers over his head. He'd deal with it after he got some sleep.

* * *

**End AN:** The Civic Arena is where the Pittsburgh Penguins used to play. It was originally designed for the symphony but was later converted into a sports arena. What makes the Civic Arena particularly interesting is that it was the first building of its kind to be designed with a retractable roof. Unfortunately, the hydraulics to open the roof were faulty and unreliable. They were disabled in 1994 and the roof was not opened again until demolition in 2011.

The trick Nosedive pulled actually works. Check out Youtube's "Soda Ninja Swipe" for a demonstration.


End file.
